From ACL to fractures, pickleball injuries surge

$From ACL to fractures, pickleball injuries surge - article image$

Sports

PICKLEBALL has become so popular that people from all ages have been drawn to it. But along the meteoric rise of the sport is the increase of injuries, sports doctors warned.

Renowned Cebuano sports medicine expert and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Janos Vizcayno Jr. disclosed that his clinic has been busy of late treating patients who suffered injuries from playing pickleball.

“There’s a lot of injuries now,” said Vizcayno.

Most of the injured pickleball players suffered knee injuries, ankle sprains, and wrist fractures from falls.

Vizcayno said for the past three months, he already operated on at least 10 patients who suffered Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) after playing the sport.

An ACL, a severe injury that requires at least six months to fully heal, is a tear or sprain of the ligament in the center of the knee.

Another top sports medicine doctor, Dr. Rhoel Dejaño, the first-ever Filipino doctor to have passed the International Olympic Committee Diploma Course, warned especially those beginners to go slow when playing pickleball.

“Most cases are those first-timers or beginners who right away played five games a day. That’s the most common thing that I've seen,” Dejaño said.

The two doctors warned individuals aged 60 to 70 to take precautionary measures when playing the sport.

Dejaño shared that just last Wednesday, July 22, he came across a patient who suffered an ACL after playing pickleball for the first time.

Proper warm-up and stretching must be observed before playing pickleball, Dejaño reminded.

“You don’t only play sport to get fit, you have to be fit to play a sport. You have to be ready,” Dejaño said.(CCM)