Yoga guide
Pickleball is real exercise, and most of the people it sends to hospital are over 60: falls cause about two-thirds of emergency visits, broken wrists lead the fractures, and Achilles tears cluster in players' first month on court. Yoga can add what those numbers point to: standing balance and stepping, calf and leg strength, the paddle shoulder and forearm on both arms, and a calm end to the day. No trial has tested yoga in pickleball players, and yoga hasn't been shown to prevent falls, so it sits beside play and the pickleball strength and balance workout, never in place of them.
This guide covers what the game asks of your body, who gets hurt, balance and falls, the knees and quick stops, the paddle shoulder and elbow, which poses older players should change (with osteoporosis, glaucoma or a healing wrist), how yoga fits around court time, and a free 25-minute class at a counter with a 3D demo of every move. It ends with the warning signs, from chest pain on court to a fall. It's general information, not a diagnosis, and it doesn't replace coaching, a falls service or treatment for an injury.
We found no yoga study in pickleball players, and a 2026 review of 15 studies found no injury prevention programme tested in the sport, only expert suggestions. The one yoga trial in any racket or paddle sport is in 40 junior tennis players, and both of its groups improved on several tests. Treat yoga as balance, strength and range work beside play, not as a proven way to prevent injuries or improve your game.
Over 85% of pickleball cases in US emergency departments from 2010 to 2019 were in players aged 60 and over. From 2013 to 2022, falls caused 65.5% of an estimated 66,350 injuries, fractures were 32.7% of diagnoses, and the wrist was the single commonest site. Of 397 pickleball fractures, 87% were in players over 60, 69% in women and 92% after a fall.
Yoga improves balance tests a little in people aged 60 and over, but no trial has shown that it prevents falls, and a UK trial of chair yoga in 454 older adults found no fewer falls. Exercise cut the rate of falls by 23% across 59 trials, and the world falls guidelines ask for balance-challenging, functional exercise, such as sit-to-stands and stepping, three or more times a week, made harder over at least 12 weeks. So the class in this guide stands at a counter and steps.
In players aged 60 and over, 11.1% of pickleball emergency cases weren't injuries but mostly heart problems. Fill in the PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone) before you start, and know the chest pain and fainting signs in the warning signs below.
Achilles tears in pickleball came at a median age of 60, and about two-thirds of 28 players tore it in their first month of play. Rotator cuff tears and tennis elbow lead the shoulder and elbow cases in clinics, and inner-elbow tests were positive as often as outer-elbow tests at the court. With osteoporosis, a healing wrist, glaucoma or high blood pressure that isn't controlled, some poses need changing.
Stretching programmes don't prevent sports injuries; strength and balance training do better. Use yoga once or twice a week on a day you don't play or after a short session, never instead of the pickleball warm-up before you play (our suggestion).
The court is 20 by 44 feet, with a 7-foot non-volley zone (the kitchen) by the net, and every rally starts with an underhand serve. Play is short lunges and quick steps forwards and sideways, dinks and volleys at the net, reaching for low balls, overheads, and backing up for lobs.
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In 22 singles and 31 doubles players with an average age of 62, over 70% of playing time was at a moderate to vigorous heart rate, with about 2,800 steps an hour in doubles and 3,300 in singles. That's real exercise for the heart, which is why the heart lines on this page matter.
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Standing balance and stepping beside a counter, because falls cause most emergency visits; calf strength, because Achilles tears cluster in new, older players; standing leg strength for lunges; the shoulder blades and the forearm on both arms; turning the upper back both ways; and a calm end to the day. Yoga doesn't replace the pickleball warm-up, the strength and balance workout that carries the falls evidence, a gradual build-up of court time, court shoes or eye protection. Our pickleball page has the training and the warm-up, and our Pilates for pickleball players guide covers trunk and hip work on the mat.
Most of these figures come from US emergency departments, which show the serious end of injuries and give no rate per hour of play.
From 2010 to 2019, over 85% of pickleball emergency cases were in players aged 60 and over, and in that age group slips, trips, falls and dives caused 63.3% of injuries; strains and sprains were 33.2% and fractures 28.1%. From 2013 to 2022 (1,110 cases, an average age of 64), falls caused 65.5%, and the wrist was the most injured site, at 12.7% of all injuries. From 2001 to 2017, 90.9% of cases were aged 50 or over.
Injured women over 60 had 3.7 times men's odds of a fracture and 9.3 times their odds of a wrist fracture, while men had 3.5 times women's odds of a strain or sprain. Of 397 pickleball fractures from 2002 to 2022, 69% were in women, 66% were in the arm (30% in the radius, the forearm bone above the wrist) and 92% followed a fall. At one US clinic, women were twice as likely as men to have a fracture.
Estimated pickleball emergency visits rose 91% and admissions 257% from 2020 to 2022, and players 65 and over had 2.48 times the odds of being admitted. From 2000 to 2023, pickleball injuries were admitted 2.57 times as often as other racket and paddle sport injuries, and in people over 64 a medical event, not an injury, was behind 25.5% of visits.
In a survey of 1,758 US players with an average age of 63, 68.5% reported an injury complaint in the past 12 months and 40.8% one that stopped them playing; the knee (29.1%), shoulder (22.2%), back (19.9%) and elbow (18.4%) led. Players who answer such surveys may have more injuries than those who don't. At one US institution, 487 patients with an average age of 62 had 618 injuries, and the rotator cuff was the commonest site (11%), then the back (7.8%) and calf (5.6%).
In 1,028 operated Achilles tears, pickleball players had a median age of 60, against 45 in tennis and 37 in other sports. Of 28 players reached after a tear, 68% had torn it within their first month of pickleball, 32% on their first time playing, and only 47% went back to the game, most of the rest from fear of tearing it again.
Exercise that challenges balance, made harder over months, carries the falls evidence. No trial has tested yoga in pickleball players.
PubMed found 5 records for pickleball with yoga, stretching, flexibility or mobility, none a yoga study, and ClinicalTrials.gov had no pickleball yoga trial. A 2026 review of 15 studies of leg injuries in pickleball found no prevention programme tested in the sport: its call for one is a recommendation, not a result.
In 40 tennis players aged 6 to 18, half did yoga by video link twice a week for 8 weeks. The yoga group improved on core, flexibility, balance and body awareness tests, but the group that didn't do yoga improved on several of the same tests, and the abstract reports no comparison between the groups. It can't show that yoga beat tennis alone, and it says nothing about older players.
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Across 6 trials (307 people), yoga had a small effect on balance tests (Hedges' g 0.40) and a medium effect on mobility. Across 22 trials, yoga improved balance more than doing nothing, but not more than other exercise such as walking or chair aerobics. In 33 trials of people aged 65 and over, there was moderate-certainty evidence that yoga improved walking speed and leg strength compared with education or no exercise, and low-certainty evidence for balance, and yoga may not add anything over other exercise.
A 2026 review of 21 studies (1,471 older adults) found that yoga's gain in balance while moving was no longer significant after allowing for small studies that may be missing, and found no clear gain in standing balance. A 2025 review of 18 trials in healthy people called yoga's effects on falls and fear of falling mixed.
In a UK trial of 454 people aged 65 and over with two or more long-term conditions, 12 weeks of chair-based yoga didn't reduce falls or improve quality of life, mood or loneliness compared with usual care, though it was safe and well liked. No trial has shown that yoga prevents falls.
Across 59 trials (12,981 people), exercise cut the rate of falls in older people living at home by 23% and the number of people who fell by 15%, with high-certainty evidence. The world falls guidelines recommend balance-challenging and functional exercise, such as sit-to-stand and stepping, three or more times a week, made harder over at least 12 weeks and kept up for longer. NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) asks that falls programmes focus on balance, coordination, strength and power.
Players aged 55 and over who had fallen while playing, or held back for fear of falling, did 10 weekly sessions of strength, balance, change-of-direction and agility work. Hip strength rose 5% in the 12 trainees and fell 12% in the 17 comparison players, change of direction got 0.7 seconds faster and fear of falling eased. Five months later, 25% of the trainees and 44% of the comparison players reported a fall during play, a difference that wasn't statistically significant. Players weren't randomised, and the programme wasn't yoga.
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In 36 women aged 60 to 75, supervised pickleball three times a week for 8 weeks improved a balance test by about 28% while the comparison group declined. In 72 older adults who were pre-frail, 8 weeks of pickleball moved 42% out of pre-frailty, against 8%. Both trials were small, and neither counted falls.
Across 25 trials with 26,610 people, stretching programmes didn't prevent sports injuries, while strength training cut them to under a third and balance training to about half. In 253 pickleball players, arm injuries didn't differ between those who stretched and those who didn't.
Across 18 small trials in tennis, badminton and table tennis players, core training improved balance, agility, core endurance and ball speed. None was in older or recreational players, and none counted injuries.
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No study has tested this in pickleball players. In one crossover trial of 20 male athletes, 15 minutes of yoga after interval training settled breathing and raised heart rate variability more than stretching, for 10 to 15 minutes; no trial has measured next-day recovery after yoga. Slow breathing raises heart rate variability while you do it, but 4 weeks of it after sprint training added nothing in 34 people. Use it to wind down, not as a performance aid.
In one study of 92 recreational players, 42% had fallen while playing, mostly when lunging or moving backwards, for example for a lob. Those who had fallen were older and slower to change direction on a court test, while ankle bend and single-leg squat form weren't linked with falling. A one-off snapshot like this can't show cause, so the balance work in this guide rests on the falls guidelines, not on this study. Across 15 studies, falls were the leading cause of leg injuries in pickleball, and age 50 or older was a consistent risk factor.
Balance-challenging, functional exercise three or more times a week, made harder over at least 12 weeks and kept up for longer, is the dose behind the falls evidence. The UK Chief Medical Officers ask older adults to do activities that improve strength, balance and flexibility on at least 2 days a week. One yoga class a week falls short of that on its own.
Yoga can count as one or two of your weekly balance sessions if it stands, steps and gets harder: one-leg poses at a counter, heel-to-toe walking, side-stepping, walking backwards and sit-to-stands. Make it harder every week or two: less hand support, then a slow head turn, then eyes closed in mountain pose only if one-leg standing is easy, as our yoga for balance class does over 60. Keep the pickleball strength and balance workout 2 or 3 times a week as well.
The NHS advises seeing a GP if you've had a fall or are worried about your balance, and falls services offer strength and balance training. Start with the strength and balance workout, and try our timed up and go and balance tests.
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In the survey of 1,758 players, the knee led the injury complaints (29.1%). At one US centre, tears of the inner meniscus (a cartilage pad in the knee) were 48% of 52 knee cases. Falls, then running or lunging forward and rolling the ankle, were the commonest causes of leg injuries across 15 studies.
Standing strength in a range that suits your knee: chair pose kept shallow, warrior II with the front knee over your second toe, and slow sit-to-stands, which the falls guidelines name. Strength training, not stretching, has the injury prevention evidence across sport. No yoga trial has looked at pickleball knees, so this is our reading. Pad kneeling poses, and leave out deep knee bends with a sore knee or a meniscus tear.
Our suggestion: in your first month, keep sessions short, such as 30 to 60 minutes of doubles 2 or 3 times a week, warm up first, and strengthen your calves on other days.
That gradual build-up, and calf raises on other days, matter more for the Achilles than calf stretches: no stretch has been shown to prevent a tear. Our knee pain from pickleball guide has the knee plan.
At one US institution, the rotator cuff was the commonest injury site (11% of 618 injuries). At another, rotator cuff tears were 70% of 23 shoulder cases and tennis elbow 6 of the 8 elbow cases. These are single-centre series of people who came for treatment.
In 129 players tested at the court, inner-elbow tests were positive as often as outer-elbow tests (7% against 5.4%), and positive tests weren't linked with warming up. So the forearm work in this guide stretches and moves both sides of the forearm.
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In 253 recreational players, 41% reported an arm injury, and the risk was about 1.5 times higher with longer sessions, more sessions a week or play on consecutive days. Arm injuries didn't differ with stretching or strengthening. Rest days and shorter sessions may matter more than any pose (our reading).
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Shoulder-blade work (wall angels and Y-T-W raises) and forearm care on both arms (wrist flow, and both forearm stretches held gently). It isn't treatment: a sore elbow or shoulder needs its own plan, and our pickleball elbow, shoulder pain from pickleball, tennis elbow and rotator cuff guides have them.
The PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone) asks about a heart condition or high blood pressure, chest pain, dizziness or losing consciousness, other long-term conditions and their medicines, a bone or joint problem that activity could make worse, and being told to exercise only under supervision. If you answer yes to any, check with your GP or a qualified exercise professional first. If you're over 45 and not used to hard exercise, ask a qualified exercise professional before the hardest sessions, and delay if you're ill.
Heart-related problems were a notable share of emergency cases in players 60 and over. Use the PAR-Q+ and see your GP first if it flags anything; start with doubles and short sessions (our suggestion). Our heart disease guide has more.
Modify or avoid exercises that round your back deeply or repeatedly, especially with a weight: sit-ups, toe touches, Pilates roll-downs and curl-ups, and extreme yoga forward folds. Bend from the hips instead. You do not need to avoid bending, twisting or lifting altogether: move smoothly and keep your upper back straight.
Twisting should be safe if you do it smoothly and comfortably. Slow down and shorten fast or forceful twists, and leave out the added weight.
This matters for the many women over 60 among injured players. Keep the class upright, bend from the hips with the hip hinge fold, and roll to your side to get up (our suggestion). Our yoga for osteoporosis guide has more.
With glaucoma, or high blood pressure that isn't under control, skip headstands, shoulder stands and long head-down holds. With osteoporosis, swap deep forward folds for a flat-back hinge from the hips, and twist smoothly. In pregnancy, our yoga in pregnancy guide covers the changes. NCCIH advises beginners to avoid headstands, shoulder stands, the lotus position and forceful breathing.
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No weight on the hand (downward dog, plank, side plank on the hand, cat-cow on flat hands) until the stages in our broken wrist guide allow it: use forearms, fists or a wall instead, as on our Pilates for pickleball players page. The wrist was the single commonest injury site.
Follow your surgical team's precautions, and check which floor positions are allowed before you get down to the floor, as the getting up and down from the floor move's page says.
Our editorial starting point:
Static holds of 60 seconds or more per muscle just before testing cut performance by about 4.6% on average; shorter holds and dynamic stretching didn't, and stretching had no clear effect on injuries. A 2025 consensus of stretching researchers doesn't recommend long holds before explosive efforts. Save longer holds for after play or another day.
Slow breathing, 2 minutes, in for about 4 and out for about 6, with no holds, standing at the counter (our yoga for tennis players class; adapted from the move page's dose). Thoracic rotation: "6 rotations per side, moving with the breath" (the move page's dose), standing or seated, the same amount each way.
Ankle circles: "10 slow circles each way with each foot" (the move page's dose), holding the counter. Slow calf raises, 2 sets of 10 to 12, holding a support (our pickleball strength and balance workout). Once two-leg raises are easy, single-leg calf raises from a step, 2 sets of 12 each leg with a hand on a rail (our off-ice workout for figure skaters); get a painful Achilles checked before lowering below the step.
Chair pose, 3 holds of 5 breaths, shallow with knee pain or recent knee surgery; warrior II, 5 breaths each side; high lunge, 5 breaths each side, hands on hips, the back knee onto a cushion if you wobble; sit to stand, 8 to 10 slow stands from a chair against a wall (all our yoga for balance class).
Mountain pose: "Stand for 5 to 10 slow breaths, 2 or 3 times" (the move page's dose). Heel-to-toe stance and walk, 30 seconds each way round, then 10 steps, fingertips on the counter then off; tree pose, 3 to 5 breaths each side, twice, fingertips on the wall; warrior III, 3 breaths each side, twice, hands on the back of a chair (all our yoga for balance class). Single-leg stand, 3 sets of 5 to 10 seconds each leg, fingertips on the counter (our pickleball warm-up), building over weeks to 2 holds of 30 seconds (our yoga for tennis players class). Side-stepping: "10 steps each way, next to a counter" (the move page's dose). Walking backwards, 10 steps, 2 or 3 times, short steps with a hand near the counter (our yoga for balance class; adapted from the move page's dose). Reach matrix, 2 rounds of 5 reaches in each direction, each leg (our yoga for balance class; adapted from the move page's dose).
3D demoMountain pose (Tadasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoTandem stance and heel-to-toe walkBeginner · A wall
3D demoSingle-leg standBeginner · A wall
3D demoTree pose (Vrksasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoWarrior III (Virabhadrasana III)Advanced · No equipment
3D demoSide-stepping (sideways walking)Beginner · A wall
3D demoBackward walkingBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSingle-leg reach matrixIntermediate · No equipmentWall angels, 8 slow slides (our yoga for weightlifters class). Y-T-W raises, 5 of each shape, forehead on a folded towel (our yoga for tennis players class); the standing wall angel is the alternative if lying face down doesn't suit you. Wrist and forearm flow, 10 slow reps each direction (our pickleball warm-up). Wrist extensor stretch, 2 holds of 30 seconds each arm, stopping if it tingles (our yoga for tennis players class; adapted from the move page's dose). Wrist flexor stretch, 2 holds of 20 seconds each arm, palm on a wall (our yoga for tennis players class).
Low lunge, 45 seconds each side, back knee padded; reclined figure four, 45 seconds each side, holding behind the thigh and never pressing on the crossed knee (both our yoga for tennis players class).
Getting up and down from the floor, 2 slow cycles with a chair (the Pilates for balance class, as credited on our Pilates for pickleball players page; adapted from the move page's dose): practising it can make getting up after a fall less frightening (our reading); with a hip or knee replacement, check which positions are allowed first. Corpse pose, 3 minutes (our yoga for tennis players class; adapted from the move page's dose), or rest sitting in a chair.
With osteoporosis, swap deep forward folds and rounding for the hip hinge fold, stopping when your back starts to round. With glaucoma or high blood pressure that isn't controlled, keep downward dog and legs up the wall brief or skip them, and leave out headstands, shoulder stands and plough. After a broken wrist, no downward dog, side plank on the hand or cat-cow on flat hands until your hand can take weight. With a sore knee or a meniscus tear, pad kneeling and skip child's pose and deep squats. With a painful Achilles, no heel drops below a step. No long holds just before you play, and with a heart condition or blood pressure medicines, see our hot yoga guide's list of who should avoid hot classes.
3D demoHip hinge foldBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSeated forward fold (Paschimottanasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoWide-legged standing forward fold (Prasarita Padottanasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoDownward-facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoLegs up the wall (Viparita Karani)Beginner · A wall
3D demoSide plankIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoChild's Pose (Balasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoSupported headstand (Salamba Sirsasana)Expert · A wall
3D demoSupported shoulderstand (Salamba Sarvangasana)Advanced · No equipment
3D demoPlow pose (Halasana)Advanced · No equipmentOn a day you don't play or after a short session, our 25-minute class at a counter: our own selection, untested in a trial. Before you play, the pickleball warm-up; for the falls dose, the pickleball strength and balance workout 2 or 3 times a week. If standing classes are too much, chair yoga; with osteoporosis, the osteoporosis class; with a sore elbow, the tennis elbow class.
A 25-minute standing yoga class for pickleball players at a counter: calves, one-leg balance and stepping, leg strength, and the shoulder and forearm on both arms.
25 minBeginner19 movesWall, bench or boxA 10-minute pickleball warm-up: marching, side-steps, leg swings, calf raises, upper-back turns, shoulder and wrist circles, heel-to-toe and one-leg balance.
10 minBeginner10 movesWallA 30-minute session for older players: sit-to-stands, step-ups, calf raises, lunges, side-steps, heel-to-toe and one-leg balance, band work and floor get-ups.
30 minBeginner13 movesBench or box, stepThirty minutes of standing yoga for balance: strong standing poses, one-leg poses at the wall, and side steps, backward steps, reaches and sit-to-stands.
30 minBeginner16 movesWall, bench or boxA 25-minute Pilates class for pickleball players: balance and stepping at a counter, calves, hips, a head-down trunk, and the shoulder and forearm on both arms.
25 minBeginner18 movesWall, bench or boxTwenty-five minutes of yoga for tennis and padel players: rotation both ways, shoulder blades, hips, one-leg balance and forearms, for non-match days.
25 minBeginner19 movesWallA 40-minute strength and balance session for over-65s, built from the Otago home programme and NHS exercises, using a chair, a counter and a step.
40 minBeginner18 movesBench or box, something with weightA 30-minute yoga class for osteoporosis: standing strength, balance at a wall, back-strengthening holds and hip hinges in place of deep forward folds.
30 minBeginner19 movesBench or box, wallA free 20-minute chair yoga class for older adults: slow breathing, gentle seated stretches and twists, standing poses holding the chair, and a calm finish.
20 minBeginner18 movesBench or box, something with weightA 25-minute yoga class for tennis elbow: a 10-minute forearm loading block, then standing poses with the hands free, forearm poses and shoulder-blade work.
25 minBeginner16 movesDumbbell, bench or boxA 6-minute breathing routine: slow breathing, crocodile breathing, alternate nostril breathing, box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing.
6 minBeginner5 movesNo equipmentThese are the warning signs from our pickleball, Pilates for pickleball players, knee, shoulder, hip, ankle, hot yoga and yoga guides, word for word. This is general information, not a diagnosis. A&E means accident and emergency; in the US, call 911 for 999.
Call 999 if:
Get help from NHS 111: pain or tightness in your chest, neck, shoulders, jaw or arms that comes and goes, often brought on by exercise, stress, emotion or cold and easing after a few minutes' rest. It can be angina, a sign of a heart problem. If you've been diagnosed with angina, get help from NHS 111 too if it feels worse than before, is happening more often, lasts longer or happens when you're resting.
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Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) straight away for severe difficulty breathing (gasping, choking or not able to get words out), a chest that feels tight or heavy, pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck and jaw, lips or skin turning very pale, blue or grey, or sudden confusion. If you're more short of breath than usual, or your heart is racing, fluttering or skipping beats, contact NHS 111.
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Call 999 if you or someone else has fallen and may have hurt the head, back, neck or hip, or cannot get up. Get help from NHS 111 after a fall if you may be in pain, injured or unwell.
Call 999 or go to A&E: severe hip pain after a fall or injury, or you cannot stand, walk or put weight on the leg. In an older adult this can be a broken hip; the leg may be at an odd angle or look shorter. Don't drive yourself.
The NHS advises seeing a GP if you've had a fall or are worried about your balance, and falls services offer strength and balance training. Start with the strength and balance workout, and try our timed up and go and balance tests.
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Go to A&E (accident and emergency) or call 999 if the arm or wrist is numb or tingling, a bone is sticking out, there's a bad cut that's bleeding heavily, or it has changed colour or shape or is at an odd angle. Get help from NHS 111 if it's very painful, you can't use it, or there's a lot of swelling or bruising.
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Call 999 if someone has hit their head and has been knocked out and hasn't woken up, can't stay awake or keep their eyes open, has a fit, has fallen from a height of more than 1 metre or 5 stairs, has problems with their vision or hearing, has clear fluid coming from their ears or nose, has new numbness or weakness, has problems with walking, balance, understanding, speaking or writing, hit their head at high speed, or their behaviour has changed. Get help from NHS 111 if they're being sick, feel dizzy or take medicine that thins the blood. If you're told to go to A&E (accident and emergency), don't drive yourself there if you have hit your head.
With a suspected concussion, if in doubt, sit them out. The UK's grassroots guidelines say no sport for at least 24 hours, get checked by a healthcare professional or NHS 111 within 24 hours, follow a staged return, and no competition before day 21; if symptoms last beyond 28 days, stay out of sport and see a doctor. Yoga waits too: gentle breathing fits the early, light-activity stages, and no head-down poses or inversions until you're cleared (our reading). Our concussion guide has the stages.
Go to A&E (accident and emergency) if you've injured your knee and it has changed shape, it becomes very swollen very quickly, you felt a pop or snap, you can see bone sticking out, or it's bleeding heavily. Don't drive yourself: ask someone to take you, or call 999 if the pain means you can't move your leg to get there.
Get advice from NHS 111 now: you cannot move the knee or put any weight on it, or it is very painful, badly swollen or has changed shape.
You hurt your knee and cannot take 4 steps, or you are 55 or over and have injured it: get it checked the same day for a broken bone.
Get advice from NHS 111 now: the knee locks, gives way or clicks painfully. Painless clicking is normal.
Get advice from NHS 111 now: a hot, red or swollen knee with sudden severe pain, a very high temperature, or feeling hot, cold or shivery. This can be a joint infection.
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Call 999 or go to A&E: after a fall or injury, your shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape, you cannot move your arm, or your shoulder is painful, bruised or swollen. Do not drive yourself, and do not try to put it back in yourself.
Same day (GP or NHS 111): sudden or very bad shoulder pain; you cannot move your arm; the arm or shoulder is badly swollen or has changed shape; pins and needles that do not go away; no feeling in the arm; the arm is hot or cold to the touch; pain that started after an injury such as a fall; or severe pain in both shoulders.
Same day (GP or NHS 111): sudden weakness lifting the arm after an injury or fall. A rotator cuff tear caused by an injury needs urgent referral to a shoulder specialist. After a dislocation in anyone over 40, the rotator cuff should be checked: about 40% have a tear.
Same day: a sudden snap or pop at the back of the heel or calf, or a feeling of being kicked there, then walking flat-footed and being unable to push off, stand on tiptoe or climb stairs. It could be an Achilles tendon rupture or a broken heel bone. Go to A&E or a minor injuries unit, or contact NHS 111.
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Go to A&E or call 999 if something hit your eye at high speed, your sight has changed, you have severe pain in the eye, a headache or sensitivity to light, you feel or are sick, you can't move your eye or keep it open, or blood or pus is coming from it. The AAO advises seeing an eye doctor straight away for any change or loss of vision, or for a lot of pain, bleeding or bruising.
Heat exhaustion should improve within 30 minutes of resting somewhere cool, cooling down and drinking. Call 999 if it doesn't, or for a very high temperature, hot skin that isn't sweating, a fast heartbeat, fast breathing, confusion, a fit or loss of consciousness.
Leave the heat at once if you feel dizzy, get a headache or feel sick, and cool down straight away if it doesn't pass. In a survey of 157 hot yoga practitioners, just over half had had a problem, most often dizziness, light-headedness, nausea or dehydration, and case reports describe a cardiac arrest from heatstroke and a heart attack during hot classes.
If you're hypermobile, don't use mobility work to push further: the NHS says "do not overextend your joints just because you can". See a GP if you think you have joint hypermobility syndrome: for example, your joints keep dislocating, or you keep getting sprains, strains, pain or stiffness.
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A joint pain that is sharp, gets worse during a session, lingers into the next day or changes how you move is a reason to use an easier version, and to see a GP or physiotherapist if it keeps happening (the rule in our plans). Muscle soreness for a day or two after something new is normal. In a hot class, stop if you feel dizzy, sick or unwell; our hot yoga guide lists the signs of heat illness.
With glaucoma, or high blood pressure that isn't under control, skip headstands, shoulder stands and long head-down holds. With osteoporosis, swap deep forward folds for a flat-back hinge from the hips, and twist smoothly. In pregnancy, our yoga in pregnancy guide covers the changes. NCCIH advises beginners to avoid headstands, shoulder stands, the lotus position and forceful breathing.
You can say no to any hands-on adjustment, and a teacher registered with Yoga Alliance must get your explicit consent each time.
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The NHS advises getting advice from a healthcare professional first if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, or have recently had a heart attack or an operation.
No trial has tested yoga, or any injury prevention programme, in pickleball, and across sport, stretching programmes didn't prevent injuries while strength and balance training did.
USA Pickleball's health and safety page says stretching after the warm-up will increase flexibility, "allowing for better performance and reducing the likelihood of injuries". The trials don't support the injury claim: stretching didn't prevent sports injuries across 25 trials, long holds just before play cost a little power, and in 253 players arm injuries didn't differ with stretching. Use a moving warm-up before play, and holds afterwards if they feel good.
In one study of 92 players, ankle bend wasn't linked with falling, while being older and slower to change direction was. The falls guidelines ask for balance-challenging, functional exercise, not more stretch.
It improves balance tests a little in people over 60, but no trial has shown fewer falls, and a UK chair yoga trial of 454 people found none. Yoga can be part of a balance programme if it stands, steps and gets harder.
Over 70% of playing time was moderate to vigorous by heart rate in players aged about 62, and pickleball injuries were admitted to hospital 2.57 times as often as other racket and paddle sport injuries.
Deep forward folds and rounding don't suit osteoporosis, long head-down holds don't suit glaucoma or high blood pressure that isn't controlled, and weight on the hands waits after a broken wrist. Women over 60 make up most pickleball fracture cases.
In 129 players tested at the court, inner-elbow tests were positive as often as outer-elbow tests (7% against 5.4%). Look after both sides of the forearm; our pickleball elbow guide covers both.
Source 16
No. The yoga trials in older adults took people as they were, with chairs and short holds, and every pose here has an easier version. For pickleball players the aim is balance, strength and calm, not extreme range.
Source 9
It can add what the game's injury data point to: standing balance and stepping, calf strength, leg strength for lunges, the paddle shoulder and forearm on both arms, and a calm end to the day. No trial has tested yoga in pickleball players, so treat it as a sensible extra beside play and the strength and balance workout, not a proven edge.
Standing ones at a counter: chair pose and warrior II for the legs, tree and warrior III for one-leg balance, and heel-to-toe walking, side-stepping and walking backwards for the moves that cause falls. Add calf raises, wall angels and forearm stretches on both arms. Players fell most when lunging or backing up for a lob.
It hasn't been shown to. Yoga improves balance tests a little in people over 60, but a UK trial of chair yoga in 454 older adults found no fewer falls. The exercise that cuts falls, by about a quarter, is balance-challenging and functional work three or more times a week, made harder over at least 12 weeks.
Use a moving warm-up instead, like our pickleball warm-up. Holds of a minute or more per muscle just before playing cost a little power, and stretching hasn't been shown to prevent injuries. Save longer holds for after play or another day.
Often, with changes: do the balance work at a counter, keep poses upright with osteoporosis, skip long head-down holds with glaucoma or high blood pressure that isn't controlled, and keep weight off a healing wrist. Over 85% of injured players in US emergency departments were 60 or over, mostly after falls.
Forearm stretches on both sides and shoulder-blade work are sensible, because rotator cuff problems and elbow tendon pain lead the clinic cases, and the inner elbow is affected as often as the outer. They aren't treatment: a sore elbow or shoulder needs its own plan, as in our pickleball elbow and shoulder pain from pickleball guides, and shorter sessions and rest days may matter more.
Calf raises build calf strength, but no stretch has been shown to prevent a tear. About two-thirds of players who tore an Achilles did it in their first month of play, so build up court time gradually. A sudden snap at the back of the heel needs help the same day.
Once or twice a week, about 25 minutes, on days you don't play or after a short session (our suggestion). Keep the pickleball strength and balance workout two or three times a week for the falls dose.
Neither has been tested in pickleball players. Yoga here is standing balance, leg strength and forearm care; Pilates is more trunk and hip work on the mat, and our Pilates for pickleball players guide has that class. Choose the one you'll keep doing.
Yes, in small trials: 8 weeks of pickleball improved a balance test by about 28% in women aged 60 to 75, and moved 42% of pre-frail older adults out of pre-frailty. Neither trial counted falls.
Fill in the PAR-Q+ first, and see your GP if it flags anything: in players aged 60 and over, about one in nine pickleball emergency cases was a heart problem rather than an injury. Chest pain, fainting or unusual breathlessness on court needs urgent help.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
