
Like many others in Naples, I play a ton of pickleball, and therefore watch quite a lot of pickleball as well. If you watch 100 people play, you’ll find that each player has some uniqueness to the way that they move around the court. Sometimes this uniqueness falls under the category of ‘personal flair,’ but other times people’s movements are clearly impacted by factors such as tightness, muscle weakness, habitual compensation, and other such things.
There’s a lot to look at when observing how a pickleball player moves, so today I want to keep it concise and focus on tightness, specifically. Here are 3 areas of tightness that I commonly see in pickleball players, and how they can have an impact on your game. 1. Shoulder - External rotation
If the terminology above sounds like gibberish to you, shoulder external rotation is the motion that you create when you bring your forearm out to the side to hit a forehand shot. It should be one of the most common arm movements that you make during the game! If you have excellent motion here, you should be able to create a forehand reach type of motion to nearly 90 degrees (meaning that the forearm would be nearly parallel to the body, with the fingers pointing away from yourself).
Ultimately, somebody who lacks external rotation is more likely to overuse other motions of the shoulder, or the wrist and elbow, in order to accomplish what they need to out on the court. This can contribute to problems such as the dreaded tennis (ahem, pickleball) elbow, among other unpleasant things. I also want to mention that this motion is one of the most common to be limited by pain for those that have shoulder issues, as well.
2. Neck Rotation
In order to respond to the ball, one must be able to see the ball, right? Tightness in the neck very commonly has a huge impact on a person’s ability to turn their neck from side to side. Depending on the person, some of this tightness may be impacted by chronic issues, injuries, age-related changes, or even posture. Ideally, most people should be able to turn their neck to the point that their chin is in line with their shoulder in both directions. Do keep in mind that there is some variability from one person to the next, here. Someone with a limited ability to turn their neck is more likely to compensate by turning their entire torso to look to the side or over their shoulder. The human body is a master of figuring out creative ways to work around an issue, and usually people don’t even realize that they do it. However, these workarounds tend to be less efficient, and over the course of many repetitions, compensation can lead to injuries. 3. Back Extension Having great extension through the back is critical for a lot of different things. Out on the courts, I find that there are many individuals that lack extension through the spine, but also many others that actually have decent motion and just don’t use it out of habit. (Not to point fingers at one specific gender, but I’ve met a whole lot of wives out there who just love to talk about how they can’t understand why their doggone husbands won’t just stand up straight!)
I won’t give a specific measure for normal on this one, because typical extension through the back can vary quite a bit from person to person, but you should be able to at least extend your spine such that you’re able to lean backwards. People who have tight backs also tend to ‘cheat’ when they bend backwards by bending their knees. They usually aren’t even aware that they’re doing it!
As I mentioned, good back extension helps with a lot of aspects of the game. It’s critical when you have to reach for an overhead shot. Being able to stand tall also allows us to be able to make the most of our core strength, which plays a big factor in stability.
A tight spine will lead to suboptimal function of the shoulder and hips as well - without going into a long and convoluted physiology lesson to explain this, I’ll ask you to do a quick experiment for me. Raise one arm as high as you can, making a quick mental note of how much movement you have. Now, slouch your upper back to simulate some tightness in the spine, and try to do it again. You should notice a big difference between the two tests. Essentially, the joints and muscles of the shoulder and hips are in such close proximity to the spine that back tightness will have a noticeable impact. I’ll be honest in that this was initially intended to be a top 5 article, but as usual, I’ve gotten carried away and written quite a bit already. For the sake of not making this an excessively long read, I think I’ll turn this into a two part piece, so look out for the continuation if this is a topic that interests you!
Did you find that any of these motions were tight for you, or perhaps even a little bit painful? For any given area of the body, there are many factors that may contribute to a person having tightness, but the good news is that in most cases mobility can be improved to allow for better play, more normal movement, and injury prevention.
At Serendipity, we offer wellness services to work on factors such as tightness that can impact a pickleball player’s game, with the goal of helping people move better before a potential injury occurs. We’re big believers in the old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Are you experiencing issues with tightness that may be impacting your pickleball game or other aspects of your life? Give us a call at (239) 232-8155, or send us an email at Contact@SerendipityPTW.com - we at Serendipity Physical Therapy and Wellness would love to see how we can help get you moving at your best!
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