Pickleball Injuries After 50: What Hartford Players Should Know

Older adults account for most pickleball injuries. Most are falls causing fractures and sprains. But the injuries that keep players off the court for months are overuse tendon problems like rotator cuff, tennis elbow, Achilles, and knee.

If you play in West Hartford or the Farmington Valley, you know the sport is fast and social. You also know that nagging pain can sideline you for a whole season.

Why Players Over 50 Get Hurt Most

Pickleball injuries are rising fast. A 10-year analysis of US emergency department data found an estimated 611 injuries in 2013. By 2022, that number jumped to an estimated 13,690.

This is largely an older adult problem. About 61 percent of injuries happened in players aged 65 to 80. Players aged 35 and older accounted for about 92 percent of all injuries. Fractures were common, and about 69 percent of fractures occurred in female players.

Two Kinds of Pickleball Injury

Sudden injuries dominate the emergency room data. Falls caused about 66 percent of all injuries. Fractures made up about 33 percent of injuries, and strains or sprains made up about 31 percent.

But there is a second kind of injury that does not always send you to the ER. Overuse injuries build slowly in tendons and joints. These are the problems that ache for weeks and make you worry you might have to quit playing. If a fall leaves you with a possible fracture, that is an imaging and orthopedics problem first.

The Four Overuse Injuries That Linger

These four tendon and joint problems are the most common reasons players over 50 get stuck in a cycle of pain and rest.

These are not sudden injuries from a single fall. They are tendon and joint problems that get worse each time you play through them.

Why Rest and Cortisone Often Fail

Rest alone rarely fixes a degenerative tendon. The tissue has poor blood supply and needs a targeted signal to rebuild. Cortisone may calm pain for a few weeks. But it does not repair the tendon structure and can weaken it over time.

For chronic tennis elbow, read more about PRP for tennis elbow. For shoulder pain that will not quit, see PRP for rotator cuff tears.

Where PRP and OMT Fit

PRP and osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) help the overuse injuries. They do not treat fractures. A suspected fracture needs imaging and standard orthopedic care, not PRP.

For tendon and joint problems, PRP uses your own blood platelets to target the damaged tissue. OMT addresses the joint mechanics and muscle imbalances that caused the overload. Together they aim to fix the root problem, not just mask pain. Learn more in our PRP guide. For local care, see pickleball and tennis injury care in Connecticut.

Getting Evaluated in West Hartford

One focused evaluation can tell you what you are really dealing with. It separates a possible fracture that needs imaging from a tendon problem that may respond to PRP and OMT.

You do not have to guess and you do not have to give up the game. A clear diagnosis is the first step to a plan that gets you back on the court safely.