Pickleball & Golf
Hurting Your Body?
The 5 most common injuries from America\'s fastest-growing sport and the game that built Florida. Learn why chiropractic care treats the cause — while painkillers only hide it.
Why Drugs Alone Won\'t Fix Your Game
Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America. Golf has been a Florida obsession for generations. But both sports place incredible stress on joints, tendons, and the spine — stress that painkillers simply cannot heal. When you mask the pain and keep playing, you are training on a damaged foundation. That is how a minor strain becomes a career-ending injury.
At Plummer Chiropractic, we do not just quiet the symptoms. We find the biomechanical fault, correct it, and rebuild the tissue so you come back stronger than before. Here are the five injuries we treat most often — and why chiropractic care outperforms medication every time.
Top Injuries From Pickleball & Golf
Tennis Elbow / Golfer's Elbow
Lateral & Medial Epicondylitis
The repetitive gripping, swinging, and sudden impact forces in both pickleball and golf overload the tendons that attach your forearm muscles to your elbow. Pickleball players develop tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) from the backhand motion, while golfers develop golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis) from the downswing wrist snap. Left untreated, this leads to chronic tendon degeneration, grip weakness, and shooting pain into the forearm.
Common Symptoms
- Pain on the outside (pickleball) or inside (golf) of the elbow
- Weak grip strength — difficulty holding a paddle or club
- Pain that worsens with wrist flexion, extension, or rotation
- Burning or aching that radiates down the forearm
- Stiffness that is worse in the morning
Why Drugs Alone Fail
NSAIDs like ibuprofen mask the pain but do nothing to heal the damaged tendon tissue. Steroid injections provide temporary relief but actually weaken tendon collagen long-term. Research shows corticosteroid injections for tennis elbow have a recurrence rate over 70% within one year.
How Chiropractic Wins
Chiropractic care addresses the root cause: the dysfunctional biomechanics of the elbow, wrist, and shoulder girdle. Dr. Plummer uses instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM), targeted adjustments to the elbow and cervical spine, and specific rehab exercises to restore proper tendon loading, increase blood flow, and stimulate natural collagen repair. Most patients notice 50-70% improvement within 3-4 visits.
Rotator Cuff Strain & Shoulder Impingement
Shoulder Pain & Limited Range of Motion
The overhead serve in pickleball and the powerful rotational drive in golf place massive stress on the rotator cuff — the four muscles and tendons that stabilize your shoulder joint. Repetitive overhead motions compress the supraspinatus tendon against the acromion bone, causing impingement, inflammation, and eventually partial tearing. Pickleball players also suffer from sudden reactive reaches that strain the rotator cuff.
Common Symptoms
- Deep aching pain in the front or top of the shoulder
- Pain when reaching overhead, behind your back, or across your body
- Weakness when lifting your arm — the "dead arm" sensation
- Pain that disturbs sleep, especially when lying on the affected side
- Clicking, popping, or catching in the shoulder joint
Why Drugs Alone Fail
Pain medications cannot repair torn or inflamed tendon tissue. Anti-inflammatories may reduce swelling temporarily, but they delay the natural healing response. Many patients who rely on drugs alone eventually require surgery because the underlying biomechanical dysfunction — scapular instability, poor thoracic mobility, and cervical nerve irritation — was never corrected.
How Chiropractic Wins
Dr. Plummer evaluates the entire kinetic chain: cervical spine alignment, thoracic mobility, scapular positioning, and glenohumeral joint mechanics. Treatment includes precise shoulder and upper spine adjustments, IASTM on the rotator cuff tendons, specific strengthening exercises for the scapular stabilizers, and passive range-of-motion therapy. By restoring proper shoulder mechanics, we relieve impingement and allow the tendon to heal naturally without surgery.
Lower Back Strain & Disc Irritation
Lumbar Sprain, Facet Syndrome, Disc Pain
The explosive rotational torque of a golf swing — up to 8x your body weight in force — and the rapid lateral shuffling, lunging, and twisting of pickleball both place extraordinary demands on the lumbar spine. The combination of compression and rotation strains the facet joints, disc annulus, and paraspinal muscles. Over time, this leads to disc bulging, facet arthritis, and chronic muscle guarding that perpetuates the pain cycle.
Common Symptoms
- Dull ache or sharp stabbing pain in the lower back
- Pain that worsens with twisting, bending, or prolonged sitting
- Muscle spasms that lock up the back after activity
- Pain radiating into the buttock or back of the thigh
- Stiffness that takes 20+ minutes to loosen up in the morning
Why Drugs Alone Fail
Muscle relaxants and painkillers may temporarily quiet the symptoms, but they do nothing to address the spinal misalignment, joint dysfunction, or core instability that caused the injury. Patients who rely on medication often develop dependency without ever fixing the mechanical problem. Studies show that chronic NSAID use for back pain increases the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, kidney damage, and cardiovascular events.
How Chiropractic Wins
Chiropractic adjustments restore proper spinal alignment and joint mobility, immediately reducing mechanical stress on discs and facet joints. Dr. Plummer combines lumbar adjustments with IASTM on the paraspinal muscles, flexion-distraction therapy for disc decompression, and specific core stabilization exercises to prevent recurrence. Most patients report significant relief after the first 2-3 visits and complete resolution within 2-4 weeks of active care.
Knee Pain & Meniscus Strain
Medial Meniscus, MCL Sprain, Patellar Tendonitis
The rapid pivoting, sudden stops, and lateral lunging in pickleball, combined with the rotational weight transfer and locked-knee follow-through of the golf swing, make the knee one of the most vulnerable joints in both sports. The medial meniscus absorbs the brunt of twisting forces, while the patellar tendon suffers from repetitive loading. Weak hip stabilizers and poor ankle mobility compound the problem, transferring stress to the knee.
Common Symptoms
- Pain along the inside or front of the knee
- Swelling that develops hours after activity
- Clicking, catching, or locking of the knee joint
- Pain when squatting, kneeling, or walking stairs
- Instability or the knee "giving way" during quick movements
Why Drugs Alone Fail
NSAIDs reduce swelling temporarily but mask the pain that would otherwise tell you to stop the damaging activity. This "permission to play through it" often worsens meniscus tears and ligament sprains. Cortisone injections into the knee have been shown to accelerate cartilage breakdown with repeated use, and they provide no protection against future injury.
How Chiropractic Wins
Dr. Plummer evaluates the entire lower kinetic chain — lumbar spine, hip mobility, knee tracking, and ankle stability. Treatment includes knee and pelvic adjustments to restore proper joint alignment, IASTM on the quadriceps and patellar tendon, targeted exercises to strengthen the hip abductors and VMO (the muscle that stabilizes the kneecap), and taping or bracing recommendations. By fixing the biomechanics upstream, we relieve knee stress and allow the meniscus and ligaments to heal naturally.
Achilles Tendonitis & Heel Pain
Achilles Strain, Plantar Fasciitis, Ankle Instability
The constant forward-and-back shuffling in pickleball and the weight transfer onto the lead foot during the golf swing both place enormous repetitive stress on the Achilles tendon and plantar fascia. Quick acceleration and deceleration overload the calf-Achilles complex, while poor foot biomechanics (flat feet, high arches) transfer abnormal forces to the heel. Pickleball players on hard courts are especially susceptible to micro-tearing in the Achilles.
Common Symptoms
- Stiffness and pain in the back of the heel, worst in the morning
- Pain that improves with movement but returns after activity
- Tenderness or swelling along the Achilles tendon
- Sharp heel pain with the first steps out of bed
- Tight calf muscles that do not respond to stretching
Why Drugs Alone Fail
Oral NSAIDs barely reach the Achilles tendon due to its poor blood supply. Ice and rest provide temporary relief but do not correct the foot biomechanics, gait pattern, or muscle imbalances that caused the overload in the first place. Left untreated, Achilles tendonitis can progress to partial or complete rupture — often requiring surgery and months of rehabilitation.
How Chiropractic Wins
Dr. Plummer addresses the root causes: ankle joint restrictions, poor foot pronation/supination, calf muscle tightness, and lumbar-pelvic misalignment that alters gait. Treatment includes ankle and foot adjustments, IASTM on the Achilles and plantar fascia, calf muscle release, custom orthotic recommendations, and progressive loading exercises to rebuild tendon resilience. Most patients experience 60-80% improvement within 3-5 visits and avoid the downward spiral toward rupture.
Chiropractic Care vs. Pain Medication Alone
When it comes to sports overuse injuries, the research is clear: treating the cause beats masking the symptoms.
| Factor | Pain Meds Alone | Chiropractic Care |
|---|---|---|
| Treats Root Cause | No — masks symptoms | Yes — fixes biomechanics |
| Heals Damaged Tissue | No | Yes — stimulates repair |
| Prevents Recurrence | No | Yes — corrects movement patterns |
| Side Effects | GI bleeding, kidney damage, dependency risk | Minimal — occasional soreness |
| Long-Term Relief | No — pain returns when meds stop | Yes — lasting structural correction |
| Improves Performance | No | Yes — better mobility & strength |
| Cost Over Time | High — ongoing prescriptions | Moderate — finite treatment plan |
| Surgery Risk Reduction | None — may delay needed care | High — prevents many surgeries |
Ready to treat the cause, not just the symptom? Dr. Plummer will evaluate your injury and show you exactly what is wrong — no obligation.
What Englewood Players Say
“I had been battling golfer's elbow for 8 months. Took ibuprofen daily, tried a brace, even got a cortisone shot — nothing lasted. Dr. Plummer found the issue was actually coming from my neck and shoulder alignment. After 4 visits, the pain was 80% gone. I'm back to playing 18 holes twice a week.”
Robert K.
Golfer · Rotonda West
“I had been battling golfer's elbow for 8 months. Took ibuprofen daily, tried a brace, even got a cortisone shot — nothing lasted. Dr. Plummer found the issue was actually coming from my neck and shoulder alignment. After 4 visits, the pain was 80% gone. I'm back to playing 18 holes twice a week.”
Robert K.
Golfer · Rotonda West
“My knee was swelling after every pickleball session. I was taking Advil before and after every game just to keep playing. Dr. Plummer discovered my hip was unstable and my ankle was locked up. After 3 weeks of adjustments and exercises, I play pain-free with zero medication. It's a completely different experience.”
Linda M.
Pickleball · Englewood
“I play golf mornings and pickleball evenings — my back was screaming at me daily. Muscle relaxers let me sleep but I woke up stiff every morning. Dr. Plummer's treatment fixed my lumbar alignment and showed me core exercises I still do before every round. Best investment I've made in my health.”
James T.
Golfer & Pickleball · Venice
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