JUST WHAT
THE DOCTOR
ORDERED
Physicians who play pickleball extol the virtues
of the game—and how it’s helping their patients’
physical, mental and emotional health.
By Drew Wathey
W
hile the old adage, “Take two aspirins
and call me in the morning,” was
manufactured with a dose of sarcasm
and skepticism, the elixir of health and
wellness these days may very well be found in the sport
of pickleball.
While the game was being developed and experiencing
its growing pains in the mid-to-late 1960s, a philosopher
took a look at the sports landscape at the time and
said that “whoever wanted to know the heart and
mind of America had better learn baseball.” And while
hits, runs and errors have captivated millions for so
long, comedian Bob Hope had another game in mind:
“When businesspeople travel around the country, they
pack their golf bags.”
Nowadays, those travel compartments may very likely
feature pickleball paddles and balls.
With the number of pickleball players in this country
nearing the 4 million mark, health officials are extolling
the virtues of the sport as a beneficial means to stay
active and fit. Many participants are looking for ways
to augment their current physical regimen or as the
conduit to begin their journey to an improved lifestyle.
Hitting the courts, according to many experts, is an ideal
start and continuation program to achieve or maintain
one’s personal fitness goals.
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“Pickleball increases your heart rate while playing,
boosts your metabolism, increases your blood supply by
developing capillaries within your muscles, and trains
your anaerobic and aerobic conditioning, which has
been linked to many health benefits including decreased
risk of cardiovascular disease,” said Noe Sariban, PT,
DPT, also known as The Pickleball Doctor. “Playing
pickleball improves your balance, coordination, agility,
reaction time, flexibility and strength. It also requires
various movements and positions, which feature those
characteristics. By improving all of these, it decreases the
risk for injury as well as the risk of falls as we age.”
Ah, the proverbial word, “age.” It’s inevitable for all
of us and as the calendars tick off year after year, one’s
ability to keep the doctor at bay is part luck and part
efficient use of time and energy, keeping your body
active and engaged in some sort of physical endeavor.
More and more folks are doing the latter on pickleball
courts around the country.
While pickleball is advantageous for those looking to
maintain their weight or to drop a few excess pounds,
usually around the holidays, proper use of equipment
and care for your feet especially should be of paramount
importance to players. A leading expert in the field of
podiatry is Dr. Allan I. Rosenthal of the Advanced Foot