We can’t emphasise enough that injuries are part of playing sports, pickleball included. One type of injury picklers are vulnerable to is the so-called pickleball elbow, which is basically the same as tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow.
The pickleball elbow, put simply, is inflammation or irritation of the tendons on your elbow. This is caused by repetitive movements—think backhand after backhand after backhand—that cause the tendons to get stretched or irritated, ultimately leading to small microtears. Your body, the self-healer that it is, will repair these minute tears, but the healing process in this area is excruciatingly slow because the blood supply isn’t all that great. As a result, the tendons break down faster than they’re healed.
How to Check If You Have Pickleball Elbow
So, with that being said, how do you know you’ve got pickleball elbow? Dr Christopher Camp, an orthopaedic surgeon, shared in Mayo Clinic’s Health Matters podcast three common symptoms of this condition:
- Pain. This is the obvious sign of pickleball elbow. When you feel pain in your elbow and it persists for more than a day, then you should be concerned.
- Loss of motion. Accompanying the pain in this case is the loss of motion. Maybe you can’t fully stretch your elbow. Perhaps you can’t bend it as before.
- Weakness. In this case, weakness means not being able to use your elbow with the same vigour as before. This happens either because the tendon might actually be torn or the muscles around it are shutting down because of pain inhibition. Think of it as your body saying, “I’m feeling pain, so I’m not going to work as hard.”
What to Do When You Get Pickleball Elbow
So, you feel the above. What should you do next? Dr Camp offers up these recommendations:
- Stop playing. Yes, we know. It’s hard to stop when you’re enjoying and having fun. But think long term. If you push through, there’s a chance you’ll injure your elbow more severely.
- Don’t panic. Pickleball elbow isn’t an emergency. You can figure it out and let your body heal on its own.
- Go for RICE. No, we’re not saying eat rice. We mean rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Basically, rest for a while, put ice on your hurting elbow, and then compress and elevate it for stretches.
- Take medicines. In consultation with your doctor, you can take pain relievers and anti-inflammatories to help with the healing process.
- Wait it out. Don’t be business as usual the moment the pain subsides. Being pain-free is a good sign, but give yourself a few more days to fully recover.
For picklers who play pickleball to stay active, Dr Camp recommends incorporating other activities to lessen the strain on the elbow. Remember: tendons are bound to break down when they’re subjected to the same movements repeatedly and at high intensity. They also need rest and variety, and cross-training provides both.
We have to be smart about how we do it. Yes, we need to be active, but we need to do it in different ways.
– Dr Christopher Camp, Orthopaedic Surgeon
You can watch Mayo Clinic’s Health Matters podcast below.
