ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
Pickleball for Inactive Mid-Life and Older Adults in Rural Utah: A Feasibility Study.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Padel, pickleball and wellbeing: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Pickleball and mental health in adults: A systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Being Able to Engage in Sports on One's Own Terms: Positive Development in Sport for Older Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Prevalence and associated factors of pickleball-related injuries among Korean recreational players: a multi-tournament cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Emerging sports as public health infrastructure: policy transfer lessons from US pickleball to China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The rate of return to play for pickleball is high following shoulder surgery.JSES reviews, reports, and techniques · 2025Article
- Lack of Neuromuscular Fatigue in Singles Pickleball Tournament: A Preliminary Study.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
- Feasibility, Acceptability, and Outcomes of Project Rally: Pilot Study of a YMCA-Based Pickleball Program for Cancer Survivors.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Injury risk and epidemiology of pickleball players in South Korea: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Increasing Incidence of Pickleball Injuries Presenting to US Emergency Departments: A 10-year Epidemiologic Analysis of Mechanisms and Trends.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2025Article
- Treating Geriatric Sports Injury Among Pickleball Players: A Narrative Review of an Exercise Craze Among Seniors.Cureus · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Many diseases, disabilities, and mental health conditions associated with aging can be delayed or prevented through regular exercise. Several barriers to exercise, many of which are exacerbated in rural communities, prevent mid-life and older adults from accessing its benefits. However, recently, a racquet sport named pickleball has become popular among older adults, and it appears to overcome some of these barriers. We conducted a feasibility study to evaluate the impact of a six-week pickleball intervention on measures of muscle function, cognitive function, perceived pain, and cardio-metabolic risk, as well as several psychosocial factors contributing to adherence in sedentary rural participants. Participants improved their vertical jump, cognitive performance, and reported a decrease in self-reported pain, suggesting improved physical and cognitive health across the sample. Participants also reported high levels of satisfaction and demonstrated good adherence over the duration of the study. Perhaps of greatest value was the overwhelmingly positive response from participants to the intervention and follow-up interviews reporting a desire to continue pickleball play beyond the study period. Overall, pickleball appears to be a promising intervention to, (1) elicit functional- and cognitive-related improvements, and (2) motivate mid-life and older adults to adhere to exercise sufficiently long to benefit their health.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.