Episode Details

Pickleball is fun until your calf pops, your elbow aches for weeks, or your knee flares up after “just one more game.” We sit down with Doctor of Physical Therapy Ashley Romine, owner of The WellCo in downtown Bluffton, to get honest about why pickleball injuries are surging and what actually keeps players healthy. The big theme is a mindset shift: if you want to stay active, you have to treat pickleball like a sport, not only a social hour. That means respecting volume, mechanics, and recovery before pain forces you to stop.

Ashley walks us through the most common pickleball injuries she sees, including Achilles and calf strains, knee pain, elbow issues, low back pain, hamstring problems, and adductor tightness. We unpack the hidden mistake many players make: warming up with biking or running, then stepping onto a game that demands lateral movement, rotation, and quick, springy reactions on the balls of your feet. You’ll get a simple, repeatable 5 to 10 minute warm-up framework featuring eccentric loading, side-to-side prep, trunk rotation, and “ready position” movement that better matches what happens in a real match.

We also go beyond the court with a closing reflection on prevention as a lifestyle, not just an injury plan. If we build strength and mobility to protect our body, what would it look like to build margin and awareness to protect our emotional health too? If you want to play pickleball for the next 10 to 20 years and feel better doing it, hit play, share this with a pickleball friend, and subscribe, rate, and review so more people can stay active without getting sidelined.