Months Into Becoming Boomer Sensation, Trendy Sport Costs America $400,000,000 Due to Injuries, Pat McAfee Reports on Weird Obsession

Americans have been suffering field injuries straining both their bodies and pockets. This is not without data to back it up. According to the National Health Statistics study conducted between 2011 to 2014, Americans aged 5 years and over sustained an average of 8.6 million sports- and recreation-related injury episodes per year. Football, soccer, and basketball are among the most documented sports that caused injuries.

However, a secret culprit also has been siphoning money, and that too millions, away from the medical funds. A sport that was earlier popular among senior adults has shown a meteoric rise in popularity recently and is draining a staggering $400 Million from Americans as per a report released by USB.

The cost of the new obsession

According to the USB estimates, Pickleball injuries may incur healthcare expenses totaling $377 million this year alone. These costs will account for 5% to 10% of total unexpected medical expenditures. The numbers are staggering and caught the attention of many people, including Sports figures like Pat Mcafee, who initially dismissed the concerns as mere hate of the sport.

 ‘That’s absurd people we’re talking about this now. I thought they were pickleball haters and all these pickleball haters that saw pickleball growing and potentially taking over their sport’, he said on his podcast.

According to a 2021 medical study, Pickleball-related injuries primarily occur in older folks. Between  2010-2019, an overwhelming  86% of emergency department visits were reported due to pickleball injuries in people aged 60 and above. Around 60% of these injuries were sprains, strains, and fractures. Twenty percent accounted for contusions, abrasions, or internal injuries while lacerations or dislocations comprised fewer than 10%.

“Turns out what they were saying was right, people could move slow and it could be an easy thing but whenever changing direction for the first time maybe 20-30 years there are some ligaments that may potentially go ….. Achilles gone…. a cut over here …a cut over on your ankle… yeah that’s what they’re saying”, McAfee gave a nod of agreement.

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The figures are even more daunting as USB breaks down the estimates as that would make up around 67,000 emergency room visits, 366,000 outpatient visits, and 9,000 outpatient surgeries related to pickleball injuries this year.

A boom during the pandemic

A hidden gem from the 1960s, pickleball skyrocketed into popularity, especially during the pandemic. According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association trade group, pickleball has grown from 3.5 million players in 2019 to 8.9 million in 2022. During lockdown,  people turned to this humble sport for a  safe, socially distanced way to exercise outdoors. With notable figures like Tom Brady lending support to the sport, the interest in pickleball saw a spike with gyms and parks building new courts to accommodate demand.

According to USA Pickleball, the sport’s national governing body, there were already 11,000 places to play Pickleball towards the close of 2022, which is an increase of around 130 new locations a month. And this obsession shows no signs of slowing down as USB estimates that the number of players will soar to 22 million this year.

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