19 Mar Pickleball injuries and massage
Is this newly discovered pastime leaving you in a pickle? Pickleball and massage do go together! Like any sport, a new level of activity needs to be accompanied by an informed recovery process as well as progressive maintenance and training leading up to a new activity. Chances are you may have started playing pickleball on a whim or tried it out without realizing new stressors you were placing on your body. Before you knew it, you might be playing three to four time a week and several hours or games at a time!
Now your body might not have been fully prepared to immerse yourself into new movements and flexibility demands. With any new program, heck even shoes, you need to break your body in and prepare it as your body adapts to new movements, patterns and recovery for those areas.
Popular pickleball injuries are seen in the feet, knees, hips, shoulders and arms. It’s popularity has skyrocketed over the last five years as well as the number of injuries that come with increased amount of athleticism. Whether you are a Major League, Professional, Associate League or amateur lover of the “pickle” here are some things to consider to avoid popular pickleball injuries:
- START SLOW: just like wearing a new pair of shoes for the first time you want to be mindful to break your body in to this new style of exercise. Listen to the coaches watch other players, “take notes” and listen.
- WARM UP: a good 5-10min run thorough range of motion movements can help. Try this idea for five continuous minutes
- STRETCH: especially of the palms, feet, hamstrings and hips. Here’s a stretch for WRISTS and ELBOWS following a pickleball session. In this video you will see a demonstration of holding one arm straight out in front of you, while the other hand slowly bends your wrist down until you feel a stretch. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds, then relax. The same range of motion warm up video link above can be used to cool down/stretch post playing too, just more a little slower and allow the stretches to last a little longer; that is stay IN the stretch longer post workout/playing
- SPORTS MASSAGE: A sports massage can feel different before and after an “event”. Regular preventative maintenance as well as specifically targeting muscle groups most affected by pickleball could be the focus for about 30min in each area – that means a 90min service is a good start to address quadriceps and hamstring for optimal knee function (30mins), low back and glutes (30mins), and arms/hands and shoulders (30min).
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