OS1st Blog

There is something to be said about an activity that brings people together from all walks of life…enter pickleball. One of the most social and fun sports that I’ve had the pleasure of playing, to say pickleball has changed my life doesn’t do it justice. But let me try to put it in perspective…

From my first time on the court, with my tennis background, pickleball felt familiar to me.  I didn’t feel like I was good when I started, but I didn’t feel like an absolute beginner either.  As I got more and more into the game, I could see myself steadily improving, something I hadn’t seen on the tennis court in a long time.

Natural toe splay is the way your toes naturally space out and lay when not confined by tight shoes or socks. Some shoes and socks squeeze the toes into a tighter space that restrains the way they would and should naturally lay, which can eventually affect your balance.

Injuries such as ankle strain, Achilles tendon strain (back of the ankle), heel bruise, wrist fracture, knee, hamstring, groin, quad strain or shoulder strain are common to the Pickleball community. In addition, pickleball players should consider themselves at risk of injury for a few reasons.

I’ll never forget my first game of pickleball. I was visiting friends in Austin. We were at a restaurant and it had an outdoor pickleball court (and yes those do exist). 

Plantar Fasciitis is a common cause of foot and heel pain which can be brought on by activities such as running, consistent standing on your feet for long periods of time, or other repetitive motions that put pressure on the arch of your foot.

Two common scenarios happen when returning to training following an injury: one, you remember where you were before your injury and jump right back into it, or two, you plan to resume workouts at a shorter distance or use lighter weights, but when you feel good, you decide on the fly to increase.

Injuries are a frustrating part of sport (and life) that show up as chronic-type injuries when you have no clue what caused it or traumatic-type injuries when it was inevitable in the moment. I have dealt with both types of injuries personally and as a physical therapist helping athletes sort it all out.

Every ultra-runner has their own story of how they got to the start line of a race with a course longer than a marathon distance, and the runners of the world’s oldest 100 mile trail race, the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, are no exception. 

Foam rolling may be the tool that you are missing in your daily routine. It provides relief to muscle stiffness and tightness, which allows you to be ready for your next workout. They come in all different shapes and sizes which makes them versatile and easy to use. To make the Foam roller even better, they are relatively cheap and will last a long time if they are properly cared for. Is it time for you to enjoy the benefits of a new foam roller?

If you’ve been diagnosed with a grade 1 ankle sprain, you can perform some at home interventions and stretches to aid your body’s natural healing process. The alphabet exercise is a good warm up to help get your injured ankle prepared for the towel scrunch (strengthens ancillary muscles in the foot), the towel stretch (to help loosen up stiffness in the area), and the toe and heel raise (to work the muscles and ligaments surrounding the ankle).

Knee health is important as you use your knees everyday all day. If you are currently experiencing knee pain or you want to avoid knee pain in the future these stretches will help. The reason that you should stretch out your quad, hamstring, and calf muscles is because they can sometimes be connected to the pain. While those stretches will help relieve some of the pain in the knee, a strengthening exercise is required. Bodyweight squats are great for this, as they put little to no pressure on the knee and they help improve mobility.