This might be the last time you hear from me because in this blog post I’m going to take on “big pickleball.”

There’s a reason they say pickleball is the sport equivalent of a potato chip. Its fast play, social nature is addictive, bringing out players’ competitive side on a court that’s small enough to see the agony on the faces of one’s defeated opponents. Games are short, and the dopamine hit is big. My wife and so many of her friends can’t get enough of it.

Pickleball, however, generates a lot of injuries. Players tend to be older, with vanishing cartilage and diminishing balance. When players fall, it’s on a hard surface that keeps our orthopedic friends’ offices quite full.

But orthopods are not having all the fun. In 2024 alone, more than 1,200 injuries to the eye were attributed to pickleball, according to a database that probably picked up only a small fraction of the real number. It’s not surprising when you consider that, although it weighs barely an ounce, a pickleball travels up to 60 miles per hour. In the close quarters of this game, that can lead to some nasty impacts and permanent loss of vision.

Read more: It’s always fun until …

Source: Healio