Make This Backyard Game Your Prescription for Wellness
In 1965, a trio of dads needed a new family game...
They grabbed sports equipment from one of the dads' houses – some cheap wooden paddles and a wiffle ball – and took to his backyard badminton court.
They made up some rules... and fast-forward to 1990, their little made-up game was being played in backyards across all 50 states...
Today, it's the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., the number of players fall somewhere between 19.8 million and 48.3 million, depending on the source.
Chances are you've heard of pickleball. And if you've never played it, you might be curious to know what it's all about.
So today, I'm going to give you a brief pickleball overview and share what some of the science says about it. Then, you can decide if you'd like to give this trendy sport a try...
The Benefits of Pickleball
Pickleball is a sport that combines aspects of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. It's played on a court that is 44 feet long, 20 feet wide, and has a net in the middle (which is 36 inches high at the sideline, and 34 inches high at the center).
Like tennis, pickleball can be played with two or four people ("singles" or "doubles"). The object of the game is to hit a perforated ball (similar to a wiffle ball) back and forth with a paddle (which looks like an oversized table-tennis paddle) and score points on your opponent.
Picklers (that's pickleball players for you) have to be familiar with a unique set of terminology and game rules. I'll include them at the end of today's issue. Now let's get to the best part about being a pickler...
Pickleball makes it easier on your joints than some other forms of exercise (like running, for example).
But there are some quick movements involved, like pivoting and reaching, that require coordination, balance, and a good range of motion.
So it's considered both low impact and moderate intensity.
A 2016 study compared the benefits of playing 30 minutes of doubles pickleball against walking for 30 minutes. The researchers found that playing pickleball resulted in higher average and peak heart rates (which is great for your cardiovascular health), more calories burned, and a higher level of enjoyment than walking.
And another small study found that playing 60 minutes of pickleball, three times a week, for six weeks led to improvements in participants' cholesterol, blood pressure, and VO2 max (which refers to the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise).
Adding in some pickleball to your day adds, on average, an extra 3,000 steps. Plus, as we get older, it becomes all too easy for most of us to start packing on some extra pounds.
But another study of overweight seniors found that those who added an hourlong pickleball session three times a week lowered their blood pressure and even reduced their "bad" cholesterol levels.
(Along with keeping you at a healthy weight, exercise also makes the population of microbes living in your gut healthy, too, by boosting their diversity. And you might be surprised to know that keeping those "gut bugs" healthy – and not expensive beauty serums – is the key to healthy, beautiful skin. I talked about it in last month's Retirement Millionaire – grab a 30-day trial subscription and full access to my "Health & Wealth Bulletin on steroids" right here.)
What's more, you're getting the benefits of traditional exercise with the added benefit of socializing. After all, we know that loneliness is a major contributor to inflammation.
How to Prevent Pickleball Injuries
Like any sport, playing pickleball has some associated risks. And folks who are older are more likely to get hurt...
A Journal of Sports Sciences study published in April used two decades of emergency-department data (749 patients of all ages) from the National Electronic Injury and Surveillance System.
Researchers found that 60.2% of geriatric patients injured a part of their upper body compared with 40.6% of adults. Older patients also were more likely to end up becoming hospitalized, too, typically due to a fracture.
Another study – this one published in July's Sports Orthopaedics and Traumatology – used the same injury database to look at pickleball-related ER visits logged from 2012 to 2022. Researchers found that 68.6% of the 1,264 logged injuries were orthopedic, with 67 as the average age of injured patients.
Luckily, you can prevent injuries by warming up your body with stretches. For your pre-pickleball prep, go for dynamic stretches – like arm circles – to start getting the blood pumping early on and muscles warmed up. And save static stretches (where you move less and hold a stretch for about a minute) for post-play. Here's an example of dynamic stretching.
Finally, don't push yourself too hard if you're a bit out of shape right now. Play at your own pace and gradually build up the intensity. And remember... it's a game you're playing for fun and health. While I understand wanting to be competitive (maybe even more so than the next person), try not to overdo it. The older we get, the easier our bones break and the longer they take to heal.
Keep that in mind... This way you'll avoid getting injured and can enjoy the physical and social benefits of playing pickleball for years to come.
If you've decided to give pickleball a go, there are nearly 70,000 pickleball courts nationwide. Finding the courts closest to you is easy, thanks to the Places2Play database that's managed by USA Pickleball. Just type in your location, and the site will tell you where to go.
And just like I promised, here are three short videos from USA Pickleball to walk you through the basics:
Got any pickleball tales? Or do you have a favorite way to exercise? Send your thoughts our way... feedback@healthandwealthbulletin.com.
What We're Reading...
- Another reason why you should always go to retrieve your wayward pickleball.
- Something different: Remembering the hero dogs of 9/11.
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
September 11, 2025