HEALTH & WELLNESS
RECURRING INJURIES—
WHY THEY DON’T GO AWAY
BY NOE SARIBAN
Does this sound familiar?
One day you’re out playing pickleball, and don’t notice any
injury while you’re playing. You wake up the next morning and
feel some soreness in your shoulder, knee, Achilles, elbow,
etc. It’s not debilitating, and certainly nothing to stop you from
playing, so you return to the courts. But now you feel a little
soreness during play, with some lingering soreness after play.
It finally gets bad enough that you decide to rest and take two
weeks off. It now feels better, and you return to the courts
happy to be back. However, after a few sessions, the pain
starts creeping back.
You decide to go see a doctor, who takes some imaging and
determines you don’t need surgery at this time, prescribes
some anti-inflammatories and recommends some physical
therapy. You show up at physical therapy only to find out your
PT has never heard of pickleball, but is confident he or she
can help your injured body part. You do six weeks of PT and
your pain level is now minimal. You haven’t played pickleball in
weeks, and can’t wait to be back on the courts. You decide to
return to the courts, and it feels good for a few weeks, maybe
even months.
But, eventually, the pain returns. You’re feeling frustrated, and
don’t know how to proceed.
Unfortunately this is a situation I encounter regularly, and
it can be very discouraging if you’re the affected person.
Lingering injuries are sometimes difficult to get rid of and
require proper care in order to resolve. Oftentimes, there’s
more going on than the injury site itself, and addressing all
aspects of the equation is vital to recovery. For example, if your
Achilles tendon is hurting, it may not be enough to just stretch
and strengthen your calf. There’s an entire kinetic chain above
the injury site, starting from your core to your buttocks, back,
hip and knees that will affect your movements on the court.
If there are any mobility issues or muscle imbalances placing
you at a biomechanical disadvantage over time, your injury will
not get better. This applies to all injuries!
When injuries linger, it’s important to evaluate the entire chain
and how someone performs the motions and movements that
cause pain in order to determine the best course of action to
promote healing and recovery. There are various scenarios
that will require a certain type of intervention in order to be
successful. The four main categories under which a person
may require treatment or correction related to injuries are
as follows: mobility and flexibility, muscle imbalances and
stabilizations, movement patterns and motor control, and
compensations for old injuries.
1. Mobility and flexibility are the foundation to most
movements and requirements in order to perform in any
sport. Mobility is the ability of your joints to move through
their intended range of motion without pain or limitations.
Flexibility refers to the total amount of motion through
a kinetic chain, involving joints, muscles, tendons and
ligaments. When they are compromised, it creates a
Noe Sariban is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Certified Pickleball Teaching Professional through the IPTPA, and an Engage sponsored athlete. Please visit www.
thepickleballdoctor.com for more information on injury prevention and rehabilitation tips. Noe started his website to provide pickleball players around the world
with a reliable and free source of information. Please like his Facebook page, www.facebook.com/pickleballdoctor, for updates and new information.
84
TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 888.308.3720 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM