Doc, I Fell When I Was Playing Pickleball.

Pickleball is a wonderful, social way to stay active — and as more people play, more players are showing up in orthopedic offices after falls. The most common way to fall is onto an outstretched hand, and that reflex puts a lot of force through the wrist.

Common Wrist Injuries After a Pickleball Fall

• Distal radius fractures — a break near the end of the forearm bone at the wrist, the most common wrist fracture in adults
• Scaphoid fractures — a break in a small bone near the base of the thumb that can be easy to miss
• Scapholunate ligament injuries — damage to a key ligament that can make the wrist unstable
• TFCC injuries — damage to the cartilage and ligament complex on the pinky side of the wrist
• Simple wrist sprains

What to Watch For

• Pain and swelling in the wrist after the fall
• Tenderness around the base of the thumb or the pinky side of the wrist
• Trouble gripping, twisting or bearing weight on the hand
• Bruising that appears over the following days
• Wrist symptoms that do not settle within a few days

Why You Shouldn't Just 'Wait It Out'

Some wrist injuries, particularly scaphoid fractures and ligament injuries, can be missed if treated only as a simple sprain. A scaphoid fracture that does not heal, or a ligament injury that goes untreated, can lead to ongoing weakness, pain and arthritis down the road. If a wrist is still painful or weak after a pickleball fall, it is worth having it evaluated and, if needed, imaged.

Getting Back to the Court

With the right diagnosis and treatment plan, most players get back to pickleball. Treatment may be as simple as splinting and activity modification, or it may involve surgery to align a fracture or stabilize a ligament. The right plan gets you safely back on the court while protecting the wrist for the long term.