A hand holds a paddle against a clear blue sky, preparing to hit a yellow ball. The scene suggests a bright and sunny day with the ball clearly moving.
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Stefania Pelfini la Vasia/Moment RF/Getty Images
Pickleball quickly became popular in the United States. almost 20 million people involved in this sport.
But this popularity comes at a price. With more people on the court, there has been an increase in the number of pickleball-related eye injuries, including lacerations around the eyes, corneal abrasions and iris inflammation. A study published this week in JAMA Ophthalmology The incidence of such injuries is estimated to have increased sharply, with an increase of approximately 405 cases annually from 2021 to 2024.
Researchers examined data from a representative group of patients in emergency rooms across the United States to understand which pickleball players were particularly vulnerable to eye injuries and how they occurred. From there, they assessed what these trends looked like nationally.
Given the “alarming” increase in eye injury cases, the study authors called for the development of standardized eye protection guidelines, which have been found to reduce up to 90% sports related eye injuries. Such rules are also mandatory for other sports, such as squash.
The study found that 70% of cases were in adults 50 years of age or older. Dr. Natasha Desai, co-director of the Women's Sports Medicine Center at NYU Langone, was surprised to see this finding because a significant proportion sports injuries found in young players.
Desai, who was not involved in the study, doesn't think the sport is necessarily becoming more dangerous. “More people are playing, so at higher volumes there will be more injuries,” she says.
“And there are many ways to get injured while playing pickleball,” notes Dr. Corey Lacher, an ophthalmologist at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and lead author of the paper, “including getting hit by the ball, being hit by a paddle, or falling.
“A lot of people think if it's a ball, you won't get hurt,” he says. But it's still risky because “in pickleball, things are very fast-paced and you're playing on a very small court.”
However, as Desai points out, getting players to wear safety glasses is easier said than done. This is another piece of equipment that players have to buy and take with them. And with so many options on the market, choosing a pair can be a daunting task.
Players will benefit from standard eye protection guidelines when playing pickleball, Lacher said. “There is pickleball eye protection for $10 and there is one for $160. How do I know which one to buy?”
If you're shopping for eyeglasses, Lacher and Desai recommend products made from shatterproof polycarbonate that meet American Society for Testing and Materials requirements. Standard F3164.
Dr. Daniel Henick, ophthalmology resident at Yale School of Medicine and avid pickleball player, researched which groups of players wear safety glasses and why others don't. He says one of the most common reasons players don't use safety glasses is because they don't understand the risks.
Henick says standardizing guidelines, placing them outside players' courts, making eye protection more comfortable and encouraging professional pickleball athletes to set an example for the influx of new players could help reduce injury rates.
The paper states that its limitations include the small sample size and the use of a database that only included emergency departments that agreed to data collection. But Lacher says the biggest takeaway from the study is increased awareness of these injuries.
Henick agrees, noting that these injuries can sometimes be life-altering: “We're talking about hundreds, if not thousands of injuries every year that can be prevented with a relatively simple intervention.”
USA Pickleball did not respond to a request for comment on the study's call for eye protection recommendations.