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Overall, pickleball injuries are relatively small compared to the number of players engaged in the sport. However, the number of injuries is increasing. Recently, the New York Times summarized a JAMA Ophthalmology report. “Players 50 and older, who were more likely to sustain ocular injuries than younger players, accounted for 70 percent of all eye injuries.”
The types of ocular injuries that brought players to emergency rooms include retinal tears or detachments, fractures to one or more of the bones near the eyes and hyphema.
Pickleballs move fast, up to 60 miles an hour. The study said that even a pickleball traveling at least 30 miles per hour can deform the cornea, retina and vitreous and exert enough pressure to dislocate the lens.
The simplest solution: wear protective eyewear.
Access the New York Times story here.
Read the JAMA Ophthalmology report here.
Read more on the aging eye here.
