Padel injuries: how to avoid them and when to see a doctor

Tennis elbow, calf strains and a ball in the eye: what happens most often in padel, how to avoid it and when to see a doctor.

Raketiline editorial team Published

This guide gives general information and does not replace a doctor. If you are injured, see a doctor or a physiotherapist. In an emergency, call 112. You can also get advice from the family doctor (GP) advice line on 1220.

Injuries are fairly common in padel, especially among players over 40 and those who increase their load quickly. You can reduce the risk with a warm-up, strength training and a sensible training load.

How often do padel injuries happen?

  • According to a systematic review, there are about 3 injuries per 1,000 training hours and 8 injuries per 1,000 matches. Depending on the study, 40–95% of players had been injured.
  • In a French survey (645 players), 52% of respondents had been injured in the past year.
  • In a survey of Belgian recreational players (457 players), 36.5% had been injured in the past year, and more than half of the injuries were to the lower limbs.

In both surveys, older players had a higher risk.

What are the most common padel injuries?

Body part Typical injury Cause
Elbow tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) repetitive loading, a tight grip, a sudden jump in how much you play
Calf and Achilles calf strain, Achilles tendinopathy sudden acceleration and push-off
Shoulder shoulder tendon overuse overhead shots
Knee ligament injuries sudden turns and stops
Ankle sprain sideways movement, slipping
Lower back muscle tension and pain twisting, bending
Eye a ball to the eye close-range play at the net

What is tennis elbow and how do you get rid of it?

Tennis elbow is an overuse injury of the tendon on the outside of the elbow. It is the most common arm injury in padel. It hurts when you grip something, for example when you lift a coffee cup or twist open a lid.

  • Reduce the load, but don’t rest the arm completely.
  • Do exercises. Studies show they work better than passive treatments, although the benefit is small. In one small study, adding an eccentric wrist extensor exercise with a rubber bar to standard physiotherapy helped. Choose the exercises together with a physiotherapist.
  • Check your technique and equipment: gripping too hard, hitting the ball late, a racket that is too heavy or too stiff (see the guide to choosing a racket).

Recovering from tennis elbow often takes months. There is no quick fix. Patience and regular exercises are what help.

What is a calf strain (tennis leg)?

It’s a tear in the calf muscle: you feel a sudden pain in your calf as you push off hard, as if someone had hit you there. It typically happens to middle-aged men. A tear in the inner calf muscle (medial gastrocnemius) is usually treated without surgery.

See a doctor, because an Achilles tendon rupture can cause similar symptoms. If you can’t rise up on your toes or there is a dent over the tendon, go to a hospital emergency department (EMO in Estonian) straight away.

How can you avoid eye injuries?

Protect your face, especially at the net. In Jönköping County in Sweden, padel caused 20% of sport-related eye injuries over five years, and by 2021 it was the most common cause. In an Italian survey, 10% of players had had an eye injury, most often from being hit by the ball.

  • At the net, keep your racket in front of your face.
  • Don’t turn around at the net to watch your partner hit from the back of the court. The ball can hit you in the face.
  • Consider protective sports eyewear (see the accessories guide).

If the ball hits your eye and your vision is blurred, or you see flashes of light, floating spots or a shadow, see an eye doctor (ophthalmologist) the same day.

How can you prevent injuries?

  1. Strength training. In a meta-analysis, it reduced sports injuries to less than a third (gym training for padel players).
  2. A warm-up before every match (warm-up routine).
  3. A gradual increase in load. The biggest risk is a sudden jump in how much you play, for example on holiday or in a tournament week.
  4. Sleep. In the Belgian survey, players with insomnia had more injuries.
  5. Suitable shoes and technique, which you can improve in classes.

What should you do right after an injury?

For soft tissue injuries, sports medicine experts recommend the PEACE and LOVE mnemonic.

In the first few days (PEACE)

  • Protect: for 1–3 days, cut down on movement that makes the pain worse.
  • Elevate: when you can, keep the injured limb higher than your heart.
  • Avoid anti-inflammatory treatments. According to the authors of the mnemonic, they may slow tissue healing in the first few days. Ask a doctor or pharmacist about painkillers.
  • Compression with a bandage reduces swelling.
  • Educate yourself about what happened and avoid over-treatment.

In the days that follow (LOVE)

  • Load: go back to your normal activity as soon as the pain allows.
  • Optimism: a positive attitude helps your recovery.
  • Vascularisation (blood flow): pain-free light exercise, such as cycling.
  • Exercise: rebuild mobility, strength and balance.

When should you see a doctor?

Call 112 immediately if you have chest pain or severe shortness of breath, faint or become confused during a match.

See a doctor or go to the emergency department the same day if:

  • you can’t put weight on your leg or take four steps;
  • a joint is visibly deformed;
  • your knee swells quickly or locks;
  • a limb is numb or weak;
  • you felt a sudden pain in your calf and can’t rise up on your toes;
  • your calf is swollen, warm and painful without having been hit;
  • you’ve been hit in the eye and your vision has changed.

See your family doctor or a physiotherapist if the pain doesn’t ease within about two weeks, comes back with every match or disturbs your sleep.

How do you return to play after an injury?

  1. First get back normal movement and strength without pain.
  2. Ease back into padel: rallying first, then a short match.
  3. Increase the load a little each week.
  4. If the pain comes back, take a step back.

For a more serious injury, draw up a return-to-play plan with a physiotherapist.

Sources

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