March 21, 2024
Recovery for the Pickleball Athlete
By Noe Sariban, PT, DPT, Cert. DN, TPI MII, CPTP
Pickleball is just too much… too much fun, that is! The sport is unlike anything else, in the way that when people start playing and get hooked on this amazing game, they spend countless hours on the court! When is the last time you heard of a 73-year-old woman playing basketball 6x/week for 3 to 4 hours at a time? Never! However, this is a common occurrence in pickleball!
It’s not just older people either. Everyone who plays develops this strange “addiction” for this sport and spends more time on the court than most activities they have ever tried in the past. This, of course, has many health benefits (mental and physical) for players, but it also creates a significant need for proper recovery in order to continue to stay healthy and play multiple times a week. In addition, those who participate in tournament play know how grueling tournaments can be, with multiple matches per day, multiple days in a row. Maximizing recovery is essential for players to bounce back for the next match or next day of playing.
When talking about recovery, it is important to understand the basics of exercise-induced muscle fatigue, and physiological responses to exercise. Whenever we engage in physical activity, our muscles will experience some level of micro-trauma in response to the demands placed on them. The harder you play, the more micro-tearing will occur, and the more soreness there will be as a response. There are many factors that will affect someone’s soreness and fatigue, but since muscle soreness and fatigue is mostly due to muscle breakdown, then all interventions used in recovery should be aimed at maximizing muscle healing and regeneration.
The main objective of recovery strategies should aim to promote collagen synthesis, maximize growth hormone and IGF-1 (insulin growth factor), increase lactate (to break down lactic acid), and maximize blood flow. There are many interventions that can be used, and a combination is usually the best approach.
Low-intensity exercise: Performing a cool-down is a great first step to promote blood flow while placing low demands on your muscles. Riding a stationary bicycle with low resistance is a good example of a low-intensity exercise that would promote blood flow post pickleball.
Massage: Massage has been shown to be an effective intervention for short-term relief of muscle soreness and muscular fatigue, as it promotes blood flow locally in the target area.
Dry needling (to be performed by a licensed and certified health care provider): The use of dry needling is a great tool to induce increased blood flow to muscular structures, while also addressing possible pain and muscle tightness.
Blood flow restriction training (to be performed by a licensed and certified health care provider): Blood flow restriction training is being used by professional athletes for recovery as it has been shown to boost the presence of lactate, growth hormone and IGF-1, and promote angiogenesis (protein making) in the blood.
Water immersion: Being immersed in water enables our bodies to be subject to hydrostatic pressure, which helps redistribute blood throughout the body and capillaries. Many have been gravitating toward cold water immersion as this may have added benefits for reducing inflammatory markers. The evidence for cold water immersion is still not definitive, however, since most studies did not include large-enough sample sizes.
Rest: Finally, adequate rest and sleep is absolutely crucial to recovery. When sleeping (lying down), our bodies are in a horizontal position, which is ideal for redistributing blood throughout the system. In addition, adequate sleep enables our muscles to be turned off and promotes increased growth hormone to be released to help with protein synthesis and regeneration.
Consulting a qualified doctor of physical therapy who specializes in sports physical therapy would be a great resource to help with your recovery. If you’d like to learn more about this, you can contact me at thepickleballdoctor@gmail.com.
The Pickleball Doctor works with pickleball’s #1 men’s player in the world, Ben Johns. •
Noe Sariban is a doctor of physical therapy and owner of Move It Physical Therapy in Chapel Hill, NC. He is known as The Pickleball Doctor and is a certified pickleball teaching professional through the IPTPA, and part of professional player Ben Johns’ team. Noe has a physical therapy business as well as a pickleball coaching business. If you’d like to register for camps or lessons, contact thepickleballdoctor@gmail.com.
