Why your back, hips, and shoulders could be sabotaging your pickleball game.
By Dr. Melissa Cutler | Doctor of Chiropractic, Racquets Professional & Competitive Pickleball Player
Pickleball players love their equipment. We spend hundreds of dollars on paddle technology, search for the perfect court shoes, and invest in lessons to improve technique. We analyze our serves, tweak our grips, and blame our paddles when a good shot ends up in the net. But what if the biggest limitation in your pickleball game has nothing to do with your equipment? What if it’s your body?
As a chiropractor and competitive pickleball player with 30 years of experience in racquet sports, I’ve seen how physical limitations can affect both performance and injury risk. One important lesson: where you feel pain isn’t always where a movement problem begins. Stiff hips may influence the lower back; limited upper-back motion may change shoulder mechanics; and ankle restrictions can alter the way the knees move.
The body functions as an interconnected system, and pickleball has a remarkable way of exposing its weaknesses.
The Pickleball Paradox
Pickleball is accessible, social, and fun. But it may look relatively low-impact compared with tennis while still demanding acceleration, deceleration, rotational power, lateral movement, and rapid changes of direction. A player may sit for hours, then suddenly ask the body to lunge, twist, sprint, reach, and react explosively for two hours. That abrupt change in demand can expose limitations and contribute to discomfort.
1. Your Lower Back May Be Paying for Your Hips
Your hips provide substantial rotation and movement during bending and lateral steps. Your lumbar spine offers stability and more limited rotation. When hip mobility is restricted, players may compensate through their lower backs, especially during low dinks and repeated reaching. This does not mean every backache comes from the hips, but hip movement is worth assessing.
Try this — 90/90 hip rotation: Sit with one knee bent roughly 90 degrees in front and the other behind. Keep your torso tall and gently rotate your knees to the opposite side. Move within a comfortable range for 8–10 controlled repetitions. Avoid forcing the position.
2. Your Shoulder Might Be Compensating for Your Upper Back
An overhead shot depends on more than the shoulder joint. The shoulder blade, upper back, and surrounding muscles all contribute. Restricted thoracic rotation may change the way a player reaches or rotates during an overhead. Local shoulder problems, including tendon irritation, can also be responsible and should not be overlooked.
Try this — open-book thoracic rotations: Lie on your side with hips and knees bent and arms extended in front. Keep the knees stacked while opening your upper arm and chest toward the other side. Follow your hand with your eyes. Repeat 8–10 times per side, without forcing the movement.
3. Your Knees May Be Doing More Than Their Fair Share
The stop-start nature of pickleball puts repeated demands on the knees. Hip strength and ankle mobility contribute to how the knee tracks when lunging, shuffling, and decelerating. Knee pain can also reflect arthritis, tendon conditions, or injury, so movement assessment is only one piece of the puzzle.
Try this — knee-to-wall ankle mobility: Stand facing a wall, one foot several inches away. Keeping your heel planted, slowly bend the knee toward the wall. Adjust the foot position to find a comfortable range and repeat 10 times on each side.
4. Mobility Alone Isn’t Enough
Flexibility is not the same as athletic readiness. Mobility makes movement available; strength, balance, and neuromuscular control help you use it. Controlled lunges, calf raises, lateral stepping, single-leg balance, and progressive resistance training help develop the ability to reach a ball and recover for the next shot. The best players do not simply move farther; they move efficiently.
5. The Five-Minute Investment Most Players Skip
Many players begin competitive rallies after only a few casual swings. A brief dynamic warm-up cannot eliminate injury risk, but it can prepare you for the demands ahead.
- Minute 1: Brisk walking or light jogging.
- Minute 2: Dynamic hip and leg movements, including gentle leg swings and lateral lunges.
- Minute 3: Arm circles and comfortable trunk rotations.
- Minute 4: Lateral shuffles and controlled split steps.
- Minute 5: Progressive dinks, volleys, and groundstrokes.
After play, walk easily for a few minutes. Optional gentle stretches include a hip-flexor stretch, a figure-four glute stretch, and a comfortable cross-body shoulder stretch, held for approximately 20–30 seconds per side. Stretching may feel good, but by itself is not proven to prevent post-exercise soreness.
6. Don’t Ignore What Your Body Is Telling You
Mild muscular soreness after unfamiliar activity can be normal. Recurrent joint pain, sharp pain during play, persistent back discomfort, numbness, tingling, or worsening weakness deserve professional assessment. Sudden significant weakness, bowel or bladder changes with back pain, or severe symptoms after injury require urgent medical care.
An assessment may consider joint mobility, muscular strength, balance, technique, training load, recovery, previous injuries, and other medical factors. Pain rarely has one simple explanation.
Your Most Important Piece of Equipment
One of pickleball’s greatest attractions is the opportunity to enjoy it for decades. But longevity requires giving your physical capabilities the same attention you give your technical skills. Improving mobility, building strength, preparing for play, and recovering adequately may not be as exciting as buying a new paddle, yet they can make a meaningful difference to your experience on court.
You can spend $300 on a paddle, $150 on shoes, and thousands on lessons. But if you ignore the body holding that paddle, you’re overlooking your most important piece of equipment.
About the Author
Dr. Melissa Cutler is a Canadian chiropractor, certified medical acupuncture provider, and racquets professional with 30 years of experience in tennis and racquet sports. A former NCAA Division I scholarship tennis athlete and competitive 5.0-level pickleball player, she combines biomechanics, sports medicine, and high-performance athletic experience to help players understand movement, performance, and injury prevention.
This article is for general education and does not replace individualized medical assessment or treatment.