Skipping warm-up ahead of pickleball match landed me in a bit of a pickle

"Isn't that a sport for old people?"

It's a question I'm often asked when talking about my new sporting love — pickleball, the fastest growing sport in North America.

Love it or loathe it, it's a lot of fun. 

While I'm inching closer to 50 every year, I had (please note the past tense here) prided myself on being physically fit. This is despite having a propensity to 'Swing On In' to Jungle Jim's for six dollar pints and nachos.

I have suffered through a number of Tely 10 runs, completed ten triathlons and spent more time than most on a bike or swimming laps in the pool.

Safe to say, my confidence overshadowed my competence late last year. 

On Dec. 2, while hosting Here & Now, I joked with meteorologist Ashley Brauweiler I was going to be late for my pickleball match.

Forty-five sweaty minutes later I found myself lying on the court in pain after my calf muscle decided it would be a good time to give out, give up and call it a day.

So surprised, I accused my doubles partner of bashing me in the leg with his racket and then shifted the narrative to the fact a rock had fallen from the ceiling onto my right calf.

Neither was the case. But as I am more stubborn than smart, I completed the match and headed home in utter agony. The following day I paid a visit to my physiotherapist Hannah Noseworthy.

"You had a medial gastrocnemius tear, which is a calf tear," Noseworthy told me.

The cause quickly became clear. 

"My guess is that you might have shortened or didn't do the warm-up piece, which I think is super important," she said.

"I understand people don't really want to waste it doing a warm-up, but it's probably one of the most important things when it comes to injury prevention for the sport."

My shortsightedness in shortening my warm up left me in a walking boot for four months and using a cane to get around. 

WATCH | CBC's Jeremy Eaton tells the tale of his pickleball injury:

The CBC’s Jeremy Eaton says he was a dink: How other pickleball’ers can avoid injury as the sports popularity rises

2 days ago

Duration 3:55

One minute he was telling the Here & Now audience he had a pickleball game post-newscast. The next, he was on the court in agony. The CBC’s Jeremy Eaton uses his own injury to learn what he — and other pickleball players — should be doing before playing a game of the fastest growing sport in North America.

But this is a sport for old people, right? Sort of. 

In June of 2020 Pickleball Newfoundland and Labrador boasted a membership of 18 people. Today, they are just short of 1,000 members. There are also three registered clubs on the island, in the Avalon, Clarenville and Bay St. George.

"The median age is about 62," Leonard Lye said, president of Pickleball Newfoundland and Labrador.

"Our youngest member is about 20, but the oldest one is 82 or 83 and we have lots of people in their late 60s and 70s."

But the demographic is getting younger, he adds.

Lye also agrees warming up and cooling down are important, but just because a sport looks easy doesn't mean it is. 

"It really helps to get some proper coaching," he said.

"The first thing to do is to get some form of a lesson so that at least you know what the proper techniques of movement and footwork are to hit the ball."

Both Lye and Noseworthy are seeing a rise in pickleball related injuries and believe it will continue to increase as the sport grows in popularity.

"Knee injuries, ankle injuries, calf injuries, shoulders are the big ones," Noseworthy said.

"I think sometimes we forget how much we're moving when we're doing it, which is a good thing."

Both think many injuries can be avoided by proper techniques and simply warming up.

While pickleball can be fun and addictive, players need to know their limitations and not overdo it. 

Since my injury I have returned to the pickleball court — but am sure to stretch and warm-up beforehand and cool down when it's over.

Better to be prepared and than to be confined to a couch watching all the Star Wars movies in chronological order like I did. 

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