Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports in Sydney right now, and we’re starting to see it show up in the clinic too. Courts at places like Indoor Padel Sydney in Alexandria and Tribe Padel in North Ryde are booked out most weeknights, and a growing number of our Burwood and Inner West patients are picking up a racket for the first time in years. The catch: padel is deceptively demanding on the body, and the injury rate among new players is high — not because the sport is dangerous, but because it asks joints and tendons to do things they haven’t done in a while.
Why Padel Causes So Many Injuries
Padel combines the repetitive arm action of tennis with the quick changes of direction of squash, played in a smaller, enclosed court off glass and mesh walls. Research on padel injury rates has found it’s genuinely one of the higher-injury racket sports, with studies reporting injury rates as high as 40–95% among regular players. Most of these aren’t serious — they’re overuse injuries from repeated load on tendons and joints that haven’t built up the capacity to handle it yet.
Padel Elbow: The Number One Padel Injury
“Padel elbow” is the most common injury reported in padel-specific research, and clinically it’s the same condition as tennis elbow — lateral epicondylitis, an irritation of the tendon on the outside of the elbow from repeated gripping and striking. What’s different is how often it shows up in padel players specifically: because the padel bat is solid (no strings to absorb shock) and points are often played at close range with fast reaction volleys, the forearm tendon takes a different, often greater, jarring load than in tennis. See our tennis elbow treatment page for how we approach this condition.
Other Common Padel Injuries We See
Shoulder tendinopathy: the overhead smash is a signature padel shot, and repeated overhead loading without adequate shoulder strength and mobility is a common source of rotator cuff irritation.
Ankle sprains: quick lateral movement and sudden stops on an enclosed court surface make rolled ankles one of the most frequent acute padel injuries.
Knee and patellar tendon pain: constant changes of direction and lunging for low balls place repeated load through the knee, particularly the patellar tendon.
Lower back strain: the rotational nature of padel strokes, combined with bending low for shots off the glass, can aggravate the lower back in players who haven’t conditioned for that specific movement pattern.
How to Avoid Becoming a Padel Injury Statistic
- Warm up specifically for padel: include forearm, shoulder and hip mobility work, not just a lap of the court.
- Build up your playing frequency gradually: two sessions a week in your first month is a more sensible progression than diving straight into daily games.
- Strengthen your forearm and rotator cuff: targeted strength work for these areas is one of the most effective ways to prevent padel elbow and shoulder tendinopathy before they start.
- Get niggles checked early: tendon pain that’s ignored tends to become a chronic tendinopathy that takes far longer to resolve than if it’s addressed in the first few weeks.
- Consider your racket and technique: a racket that’s too heavy or poor technique on the smash and volley both increase load through the elbow and shoulder.
How Physiotherapy Treats Padel Injuries
Whether it’s padel elbow, shoulder tendinopathy or an ankle sprain, our approach is the same as for any overuse or acute sporting injury: a thorough assessment to identify what’s actually driving the problem, hands-on treatment to reduce pain and irritation, and a structured strength and loading program to build the tendon or joint’s capacity back up so it can handle your playing schedule. For persistent tendon pain like padel or tennis elbow that hasn’t responded to rest alone, our shockwave therapy can also help stimulate healing. See our sports physiotherapy page for more on how we support local athletes across all sports, including the newer ones.
If padel has left you with a nagging elbow, shoulder or ankle you can’t quite shake, don’t wait for the next tournament to sort it out. Call us on 02 8322 9022 or book online.
