PORTLAND, OR -- Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the U.S. According to Travel Oregon, you can swing paddles in every corner of the state. "People are getting outside. They're looking for a reason to get outside and pickleball is a blast; it's really fun," says Dr. Ryan Golden, "But, sometimes accidents happen." Americans are expected to spend between $250 and $500 million treating pickleball-related injuries this year. 

Dr. Golden is the Assistant Chief of Urgent Care for Kaiser Permanente Northwest. He says he's seen a large increase in pickleball-related injuries in the past year, "The most common injuries that we're going to see come in from pickleball players are musculo-skeletal injuries. So, fractures, strains, sprains." There are also repetitive-motion injuries, like tennis elbow. But eye injuries are also possible, "With pickleball, the courts are small, the ball's moving fast, players are up toward the net so if that ball catches you in the wrong spot it can lead to more serious eye injuries."

There are ways to prevent getting hurt. Dr. Golden suggests wearing eye protection, similar to other sports, like squash or racquetball. To avoide sprains and strains, Golden says, ?"A lot of common sense things: Making sure that you take the time to warm up. Making sure that you have good equipment, good footwear. Making sure that you're taking the time to cool down afterwards." He adds, "Making sure that you're taking enough time to rest and recover between play sessions. I think those are all helpful things that can help prevent someone from developing some of those more sub-acute problems."

While soreness and minor injuries can be treated with ice or aspirin, he says some symptoms require medical attention, "If you have physical deformity, you have visible discoloration, if you're not able to bear weight on the extremity, if pain is severe, absolutely, we want to see you. That needs to be evaluated."

He says people with pre-existing conditions like osteoporosis or arthritis and young people new to the sport are most at risk of getting hurt.

File photo, courtesy of Bend Parks and Recreation District