Pickleball is currently America’s fastest-growing sport in terms of popularity. The number of people playing pickleball grew by 40 percent between 2019 and 2021. The sport takes upon elements from other sports such as tennis, badminton, and ping pong.
The question we are all trying to answer is, why is Pickleball suddenly such a popular sport? There really is no way to answer this question because Pickleball does not seem to have much of a difference from other sports such as Tennis. Pickleball is only a fad brought on by the older generation, the majority of Pickleball’s core players are either in the age range of 38 or 65 years old.
With an older audience of players, you would assume that Pickleball is a safe sport for the older generation to play. Sure it is getting them moving, but when you look beyond the surface, Pickleball is not all that it is cracked up to be.
With the amount of older players, there are a lot of elderly suffering from injuries on the Pickleball field. Those who need emergency room assistance from Pickleball injuries are usually around 60 years of age.
Pickleball is a fast-paced game that requires a lot of quick twisting and lunging. As a result, there are many different problems that Pickleball can cause for its frequent players. Shoulder problems, disc injuries in the lower back, lateral epicondylitis also known as tennis elbow, muscle strains, etc. Although Pickleball has less risk than Tennis, there are still many health risks to playing the game.
There is a common misconception that Pickleball is the perfect sport for those 50+, but this is not the case. It is said that Pickleball helps to boost cardiovascular health in the elderly. People will say that it prevents hypertension, stroke, and heart attacks. But some have been led to believe that Pickleballs can actually be the cause of all of those things.
Besides the unknown dangers that Pickleball has, it is also an unnecessary sport. The similarity between Tennis and Pickleball is uncanny. They are practically the same sport in every way besides the equipment looking slightly different, and different court sizes. There is no real reason for the hype around Pickleball besides the fact that it is a new trendy thing for people to do.
It is no surprise that Tennis courts are now being converted into courts for Pickleball players. The craze has become so insane that it is now feeding into taking over the space of Tennis players. A huge difference between Tennis and Pickleball however is the noise. A common complaint from those living near these Pickleball courts is that the game is unbelievably loud. The clanking and smacking noises of the Pickleball mixed with preexisting conditions such as hypertension and heart problems can cause people to suffer strokes.
Whether or not Pickleball noises can actually cause people to suffer from a stroke, we do not know. But we do know that Pickleball is nothing but a knockoff version of tennis made to be astronomically louder.
