Back Pain From Pickleball: Why It Happens and How to Keep Playing
Pickleball has pulled a lot of people back into a fast, competitive sport later in life, and that is a good thing. It is social, it is easy to learn, and it is easy to play nearly every day. It is also easy to overdo, and the lower back is usually the first place to complain. If your back is sore after you play, here is what is happening and how to stay on the court.
Why Pickleball Bothers Your Back
The court is small, but the movement is constant. Quick side-to-side shuffles, lunges for the ball, and sudden stops all twist and load the lower spine. The ball also stays low. Between the low ready position, long dinking rallies, and bending for shots at your feet, your back spends a lot of the game flexed forward. Then the lob goes up, and you arch backward and twist for an overhead smash. That combination, bent forward for minutes and then suddenly arched and rotated, is a lot to ask of a lower back.
The other problem is the ramp-up. Many players go from years of little activity to playing three or four days a week in their first month, because the game is that fun. Muscles, joints, and discs need more time to adapt than enthusiasm does.
Where the Pain Is Usually Coming From
Sore muscles are common early on and settle with rest. Pain from arching and twisting, like the pain after overhead smashes, often comes from the facet joints, the small joints at the back of the spine. Repeated bending can irritate the discs, and the SI joint can act up with all the lunging and quick direction changes. If pain runs down a leg, or you notice numbness or weakness, a nerve may be involved, and that is worth checking sooner rather than later.
How to Keep Playing
Ramp up slowly. Most pickleball back pain is a dose problem, not a technique problem. If you are new or returning after a break, start with two days a week and build from there.
Bend with your knees, not your back. For dinks and low balls, drop your hips and bend your knees instead of folding forward at the waist. Your legs are built for that position. Your back is not.
Strengthen your core and hips. A stronger core and mobile hips absorb the twisting and lunging so your lower back does not have to.
Warm up before the first game. A few minutes of walking, gentle twists, and easy practice rallies prepare your spine for sudden movement. Most players walk straight onto the court cold.
When It Is More Than Soreness
Normal soreness eases with a day or two of rest. Pain that comes back every time you play, pain that travels into a leg, or any numbness or weakness should be looked at. Those signs can point to a disc or nerve problem that is easier to treat early.
How We Treat It
Treatment is matched to the source of the pain, not just the symptom. Facet joint pain often responds to targeted injections and radiofrequency ablation. Disc or nerve pain may be treated with epidural injections. Physical therapy that builds core strength and better movement rounds out the plan, so you can get back to playing instead of just resting between flare-ups.
Back Pain Treatment in Castle Rock
Dr. Carrera is double board-certified in interventional pain medicine and physical medicine and rehabilitation. The practice treats back pain and other spine, joint, and nerve conditions with non-opioid, procedure-based care for patients from Castle Rock, Castle Pines, Lone Tree, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Centennial, Denver, Monument, and Colorado Springs, and surrounding communities.
Is back pain keeping you off the pickleball court? Call our office 720-455-3775 to find out what is causing it.
