Pickleball Injury & Performance St. Petersburg
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Worried How Your Body Will Hold Up with Pickleball?
Currently Dealing With A Pickleball Injury ?
Are You Playing Less Pickleball Because of Pain?
Do You Feel Like You Can’t Get Passed Your Injury?
Worried You’ll Get Injured Like Your Pickleball Friends?
If you answered YES to one or more of those questions, we just might have a solution for you!
As a pickleball player, it’s likely you already know that injuries while playing pickleball are all too common.
Whether it’s a sprained ankle from pivoting too quickly or tennis/golfers elbow from repetitive motions, injuries can be a major setback for any player. As pickleball enthusiasts ourselves, it’s easy to see how great pickleball is as an avenue for physical activity, competition, relationship building and just a whole lot of fun!
As the leading sports medicine clinic in St. Petersburg for sports-related injuries, we’ve made it our mission to help local pickleball players and pickleball players world-wide to continue playing the game they love, pain-free.
Our team understands the injuries of pickleball players and comprehensive guide to injury prevention. From warming up properly before a match to strengthening key areas of your body, our guide will help you stay injury-free and on the court for longer.
Common Pickleball Injuries We Treat
Pickleball involves quick direction changes, repetitive swings, and rapid reactions — all of which can place stress on specific areas of the body.
We commonly treat:
Pickleball Elbow
Pain on the outside of the elbow caused by repetitive gripping and paddle use. Often worsens with play and daily activities.
Shoulder Pain
Pain on the outside of the elbow caused by repetitive gripping and paddle use. Often worsens with play and daily activities.
Knee Pain
Quick lateral movements and stopping can increase stress on the knee, especially if strength or stability is lacking.
Achilles Tendonitis
Explosive movements and quick push-offs can overload the Achilles tendon.
Plantar Fasciitis
Pain on the outside of the elbow caused by repetitive gripping and paddle use. Often worsens with play and daily activities.
Lower Back Pain & Hip Pain
Rotational forces and quick reactions can place stress on the spine and hips.
Ankle Sprains
Commonly referred to as “rolling an ankle” causes pain on the outside of the ankle. Damages the ankle ligaments and lower leg/foot muscles that are important for stability, balance, and preventing future sprains.
Why These Pickleball Injuries Develop
While pickleball injuries can happen suddenly — like rolling an ankle or tweaking a knee during a quick change of direction — many of the problems we see develop gradually from the repeated demands of the sport.
Pickleball requires a unique combination of quick lateral movements, short sprints, sudden stops, repetitive rotation, reaching, and hundreds of swings of the paddle. Your body has to repeatedly produce force, absorb force, and change direction, often for several games at a time.
For the lower body, that means your feet, calves, Achilles tendons, knees, hips, and lower back have to tolerate repeated starts, stops, lunges, and changes of direction. If your legs aren’t strong enough to repeatedly absorb those forces—or your weekly playing volume increases faster than your body can adapt—you may start noticing knee stiffness, Achilles pain, plantar fascia irritation, or soreness through the hips and lower back.
The upper body has a different challenge. Every serve, drive, volley, and backhand requires force to travel from your legs and trunk through the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and eventually the paddle. Playing several days per week can mean hundreds or even thousands of repeated gripping and swinging motions. When the muscles and tendons of the forearm or shoulder aren’t prepared for that volume, conditions like tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, rotator cuff pain, and biceps tendon irritation can begin to develop.
And sometimes the biggest issue isn’t one specific weakness or movement fault—it’s simply too much pickleball, too quickly. Going from occasionally playing to playing four or five days per week, joining multiple leagues, playing longer sessions, or suddenly competing at a higher level can increase the demands on your body before it has had enough time to adapt.
That’s why our approach isn’t simply to tell every pickleball player to stretch more, rest for a few weeks, or stop playing.
We look at what hurts, what tissue may be involved, how you move, your strength and mobility, how frequently you’re playing, and what your body is currently capable of tolerating. From there, we can build a plan to address the factors that actually matter for your injury—and help prepare your body for the demands of getting back on the court.
Our Pickleball Injury Assessment & How We Get You Back to Pain Free Pickleball
Your first visit is designed to understand both your injury and how you move on the court.
We assess:
• strength in the shoulders, hips, and lower body
• mobility of key joints involved in play
• balance and single-leg control
• movement patterns during lateral and rotational movements
• contributing factors from your playing style
When appropriate, we also use injury diagnostics and diagnostic ultrasound to better understand tissue health.
We also work with local pickleball coaches to help fix mechanics and create a structured return to play that sets you up for success.
You’ll leave your first session with a clear understanding of what’s going on and what needs to be done to fix it.
From Pickleball Pain to Pickleball Performance
Our approach to pickleball injury rehabilitation focuses on reducing symptoms, restoring strength and mobility, and improving your body’s ability to handle the repeated demands of playing pickleball.
Depending on your injury, your treatment plan may combine hands-on treatment, advanced recovery technologies, and progressive strength and movement training.
Strength Training for Stability, Power & Durability
Pickleball requires much more strength than many players realize. Your legs have to absorb force when stopping and changing direction, while your hips and trunk help create rotational power for your swing. Your shoulder and forearm then have to tolerate hundreds of repetitive swings and gripping motions.
We use progressive strength training to improve these areas and gradually increase your capacity for longer, harder matches.
Mobility & Movement Training
Restrictions through the ankles, hips, thoracic spine, or shoulders can affect how you move around the court and perform your swing.
Rather than stretching everything that feels tight, we determine which mobility limitations are actually relevant to your symptoms and address them alongside strength and movement training.
Manual Therapy & Soft Tissue Work
When pain or stiffness is limiting your movement, hands-on treatment can be useful alongside active rehabilitation.
Depending on what we find during your evaluation, we may use joint mobilization, targeted soft-tissue techniques, cupping, or instrument-assisted soft-tissue work to address areas of discomfort or restricted motion.
The goal isn’t to rely on hands-on treatment indefinitely. We use it when appropriate to help you move and train more comfortably while we work on the longer-term strength and capacity improvements that keep you on the court.
Dry Needling With Electrical Stimulation
Dry needling may be incorporated when muscular pain, tightness, or sensitivity is contributing to your symptoms.
We frequently combine dry needling with electrical stimulation as an adjunct to rehabilitation for areas such as the forearm, shoulder, hip, calf, and other muscles that can become irritated from repetitive play.
For someone dealing with persistent pickleball elbow, for example, dry needling may be one component of treatment alongside progressive forearm and grip strengthening.
TECAR Therapy
TECAR therapy uses radiofrequency energy and may be incorporated into treatment to help manage pain and support rehabilitation of irritated muscles, tendons, and joints.
We may use TECAR during the earlier stages of treatment when soreness or stiffness is making it difficult to move or exercise comfortably. It is then paired with the mobility, strength, and progressive loading needed to address the demands that contributed to the problem in the first place.
Shockwave Therapy for Chronic Tendon Injuries
Some of the most stubborn pickleball injuries involve tendons—particularly tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, Achilles tendinopathy, and certain shoulder tendon problems.
For appropriate chronic tendon conditions, we may incorporate shockwave therapy alongside progressive strengthening. Shockwave delivers mechanical energy to the targeted tissue and is typically used as part of a broader rehabilitation plan rather than as a stand-alone treatment.
This can be particularly useful when you’ve been dealing with a tendon problem for months and simply resting, stretching, bracing, or repeatedly trying the same exercises hasn’t been enough.
Load Management & Return to Pickleball
One of our goals is to keep you as active as reasonably possible during recovery.
Instead of automatically telling you to stop playing, we’ll look at how frequently you’re playing, how long your sessions last, how intense your games are, and how your symptoms respond afterward.
Sometimes that means temporarily reducing the number of games you play. Other times we may modify consecutive playing days, intensity, or certain movements while gradually rebuilding your tolerance.
As your symptoms, strength, and capacity improve, we progressively reintroduce the demands of pickleball until you’re ready for longer sessions and more competitive play.
The goal isn’t to make you dependent on dry needling, TECAR, shockwave, braces, or weekly treatment. It’s to use the right tools at the right time while building a body that can better tolerate the demands of the sport you love.
Pickleball Injury Treatment Made for St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg has a rapidly growing pickleball scene, with courts and communities throughout the area.
We work with players from neighborhoods including:
- Old Northeast
- Kenwood
- Downtown St. Petersburg
- Gulfport
- Shore Acres
Whether you’re playing socially or competitively, your body needs to be able to handle the demands of the sport.
"What Can I Do To Prevent Injury While Playing Pickleball?"
Although it’s easy for anyone at any age to pick up a paddle and become a “Pickler”, injury prevention should be on the forefront of every players mind! The great part is that injury prevention doesn’t have to be a full time job! At Alliance Regen & Rehab, we have tools and guidance you need to hit the pickleball court with confidence and success! Here are some easy and important suggestions!
- Proper Shoes: Wear shoes that provide good support and have a non-slip sole. Pickleball involves a lot of lateral movement, so make sure you choose shoes that offer good stability and grip.
- Hydration: Drink plenty of water before, during, and after each match or practice session. Staying hydrated can help prevent muscle cramps, heat exhaustion, and other conditions that can lead to injury.
- Warm-up: Warm up properly before each match or practice session. This should include active stretching and light cardiovascular exercise to get your muscles and joints ready for action. Check out our Do’s and Don’ts of Stretching Blog for more.
- Conditioning: Keep your body in good condition by maintaining a regular exercise routine that includes strength training and cardiovascular exercise. This will help you build endurance, increase your flexibility, and reduce your risk of injury.
- Off-the-court exercise: Incorporate exercises off the court that will help you improve your strength, balance, and flexibility. Yoga, Pilates, and other activities can help you stay in shape and prevent injuries on the court.
Pickleball FAQ's
The most common injuries in pickleball are strains and sprains, accounting for approximately 28% of all pickleball injuries and fractures accounting for 27%. Lower body injuries are more common and include injuries such as ankle sprains, tendinitis, and meniscus tears. Upper body injuries can also occur including elbow tendinitis, which is also knows as “golfer’s elbow” or “tennis elbow. Facial injuries can also occur from time to time.
Pickleball is a fast moving game and requires a lot of quick movements in all directions, therefore it’s best to wear tennis shoes or court shoes that provide good lateral stability. Many new players will wear running shoes or shoes that loose fitting, which can make put a player at a higher injury risk for ankle and knee injuries.
We do! We have a virtual program specifically built by our sports medicine team and performance team, including a professional pickleball trainer. The program offers custom-made workouts designed for improving strength, agility, conditioning, injury prevention, and even injury rehab guides for the most common injuries that happen on a pickleball court.
Absolutely, helping people navigate injury and overcome is our specialty. We help people get back to sports quickly without surgery and without medications all of the time. We have a few options depending on the situation, but our team is great at getting you to the provider that can help you the best! All of you have to do is fill out our request an appointment form down below and a member of our team will reach out to you!
Yes absolutely! We’re able to help our fellow picklers virtually, whether it’s for injury rehab or for pickleball performance training. We’d love to talk with you about working together is the best option for you!
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