Joint Replacement Patients’ Pickleball Recovery: Many people who have hip or knee replacement surgery can return to playing pickleball within six months, a new study shows. The research was done by doctors at the University of California, Davis, who noticed many of their patients asking when they could play again after surgery.
Dr. Adam Taylor, a clinical orthopedic surgery professor at the University of California, Davis, said, “There was a ton of overlap between the popularity of pickleball and total joint arthroplasty. So, it inspired us to look into it a little further.”
Why Doctors Looked Into Pickleball Recovery
Dr. Adam Taylor and his fellow surgeons were getting the same question again and again: “When can I play pickleball again?” Their patients were mostly older adults who had just had joint replacements and were eager to return to the sport.
Knowing how popular pickleball has become, especially among seniors, the doctors decided to do a formal study. They wanted to see how common it was for people to return to playing and how their new joints held up.
What the Study Found
The research team sent surveys to 7,200 people who had joint replacements. They asked about whether they played racket sports like pickleball before and after surgery. They got 1,284 responses. The people who replied were between 51 and 83 years old, with an average age of 67.
Of those who responded:
- 61.7% had never played a racket sport.
- 13% played in the two years before surgery.
- 25.3% played more than two years before surgery.
Among the most recent players, 71.9% went back to playing pickleball. Among those who had stopped playing more than two years ago, only 30.2% returned to the sport. Some who didn’t return simply lost interest.
The people who came back to the game did so fairly quickly. Most of them returned to playing within six months and felt they had the same skill level as before the surgery. Players who had been active shortly before their surgery also felt better physically when they came back to the court.
What It Means for Recovery
The researchers also looked at how the new joints handled the sport. They found that people who played pickleball after surgery had about the same rate of follow-up surgeries as those who didn’t play.
“I think the biggest takeaway was that there was no difference in re-operation rates. I think it appeared to be safe. The majority of recent racket sports players were able to return to play at the same skill level by about six months postoperatively, with higher physical function scores.” – (Dr. Adam Taylor)
Looking Ahead
This study gives hope to people who love pickleball and need joint replacement surgery. It shows that they can often get back to the game they love, safely and without risking more surgeries. It also helps doctors give better answers to patients who want to stay active after surgery.
“In today’s world with modern implants and surgical techniques, more and more surgeons are encouraging sporting activities after total joint arthroplasty because they have more confidence in the survivorship of the implants. That was really the point of this study; to see if it was safe to do, using modern implants and modern surgical techniques, and then obviously see how patients did after surgery.” – (Dr. Adam Taylor)
News in Brief: Joint Replacement Patients’ Pickleball Recovery
A study from the University of California, Davis, found that most pickleball players could safely return to the sport within six months after hip or knee replacement surgery. Dr. Adam Taylor said returning to the game didn’t raise the risk of needing another surgery and helped improve physical function.
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