TO YOUR HEALTH

With the continuous rise in the popular- who began playing the game about two years ago as the pandemic waned. Although he said he has fallen while playing pickleball, he’s not been injured.

“This is my exercise. It keeps me in shape,” Coleman said.

Injuries range from Achilles tendon tears to twisted backs and knees to fractured wrists due to falls, she said. Even though people of all ages play the sport, injuries are concentrated among seniors. Players 60 years and older account for most emergency department visits, according to UBS.

“Compared to previous generations, seniors are living longer and are more active,” the report noted. “They have shown a greater preference to age in place, exercise, play sports, and travel.

One recent morning, eight players, mostly seniors, competed in two games set up on the basketball court in the YMCA’s gymnasium. Talking among themselves, 14 other players waited their turn to play.

“Pickleball has been a lifesaver for a lot of us,” said James Coleman, 72,

Southard advised that as a first step, players new to the game need to realize pickleball “can be a challenging sport… Some people want to come in and start playing right away without conditioning themselves in advance.”

“While we generally think of exercise as positively impacting health outcomes, the ‘can-do’ attitude of today’s seniors can pose greater risk in other areas such as sports injuries, leading to a greater number of

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