‍Baby boomers love Pickleball, but they are getting old and going through hip and knee surgeries. Most are worried about whether or not they’ll be able to play again.

Pickleball, after all, is one of the fastest-growing recreational sports in America; its greatest generation, the baby boomers, have taken a special liking to the sport. Yet, their age and health have them worried about being able to step back into the court again.

If you are looking for the answer can you play pickleball after hip or knee replacement? You are in luck. Because if you are careful with your prehab and rehab, you will be able to play Pickleball again after a major injury.

However, the road to comeback isn't that simple for someone who goes through such a major surgery, whether young or old, healthy or sick. Every meticulous detail leading into and after the surgery needs to be planned and performed to perfection to ensure a person can come back from it. Hence in this guide, I'm telling you what you need to do to make a comeback if you wish to play Pickleball again.

After careful research from the USA Pickleball Organization's Doctorate holder guidance, and one of Pickleball's leading information websites, I have deduced a plan that will have you back on the court in no time. So continue reading to learn the secret formula for your grand comeback.

Steps To Take To Ensure Comeback to Pickleball after a Major Surgery

You know you are in trouble with your hip or knee, and you need a major operation to extend your life. So what do you do now that you know that you can get the help you need, but don't want to walk away from the sport you dearly love?

If you don't know the answer, don't worry because I have provided you with a complete plan of what steps to take to ensure you recover fully. I have even mentioned what not to do at all costs, but first, let's discuss what we should do:

1. Prehab

If you are unfamiliar, then prehab is the battle before the actual battle you have to go through if you are going under for a big operation. If you ever wish to play Pickleball again, you need to take prehab with utmost seriousness.

Prehab done right is half the battle won, and the fitter you go into your operation thanks to correct conditioning and prehab, the better you'll come out of it. Therefore, the following are the prehab steps you need to follow religiously if you want 100% recovery.

Slow down Your Game time/Movement before Operation

A person knows when they are in trouble with their body, they know it before anyone else, and in this scenario, you can do two things. Take painkillers, avoid your pain and act like nothing's wrong while doing more damage to your hip or knee, or number two, be smart about it and start slowing down.

I know you must be confused about what exactly slowing down means. Fret not; I'll explain it means that you should cut your time in half of what you were playing before, and basically, you should reduce your physical activity as soon as you know something is wrong and seek medical assistance. Consult your doctor and do everything they say but start slowing down if you feel discomfort.

Kill Your Pride & Tap out When You Feel Discomfort

The second step of your prehab is to kill your pride. While you will be in the process of slowing down, you will still be playing a bit until you are unsure about it. You may not feel like giving it up entirely - that’s the competitive nature of humans. We all want to be the best if something is up to our alley.

During this period, your friends might tease you to continue playing one more game or play harder. They will try to rile you up. However, you must keep your composure and look towards the bigger picture if you want to be fine in the longer picture.

Kill your pride and tap out from being competitive as soon as you feel discomfort and know something is wrong that needs to be fixed to feel 100% again.

Consult a Physical Therapist At Least 3 Months Before To Start a PT Program

Hip or knee replacement surgeries are not spur-of-the-moment decisions. They take many doctor visits, consultations, and planning, but you should visit a physical therapist as soon as you feel the first sign of discomfort.

Tell them about your pain and start a physical therapy plan so if in the future things go south, and an operation is your only salvation, at least your body will be ready for it.

Bring Your Health to a Healthy State before Operation

Your health will play a huge role in deciding if you can ever play Pickleball again if you are unhealthy, overweight, or have any controllable out-of-control problems like blood pressure or diabetes.

It would help if you got them in order before going through with the operation. Because the healthier you will go into the operation, the better chance you have of returning healthy and 100% fit.

2. Rehab

Now you know what you need to do to ensure you are in perfect condition to go under the knife. To ensure your successful comeback to the Pickleball sport, the next step you need to follow is to manage your rehab. I believe you have to be careful of the following steps:

Manage Your Pain Effectively

There is a reason hip or knee surgeries are considered top-tier, and it is because they can be life-altering in both good and bad ways. It all depends upon how to manage the rehab period, so be prepared that you will feel pain. But the way you convey your concerns to your doctor and physical therapist, and how you manage them yourself will determine the recovery.

Take It One Day at a Time

While going through rehab, the thing which frustrates patients the most is the period of stagnation. It is human nature to not be patient and rush through things. However, during this period, you must remember that if you want to recover 100% of your abilities and play Pickleball again, you must be patient and take it one day at a time.

There Will Be Setbacks - Be Mentally Prepared For Them

Setbacks are created for comebacks. This is a phrase you need to keep reminding yourself while you are going through a slow and painstaking rehabilitation process. There will be days when there will be progress, but there will also be days of stagnation, and there will be days of reverse progress.

Still, you need to maintain hope and not lose patience because if you want to recover completely from major surgery, you need to brace yourself to experience setbacks and embrace them for a brighter tomorrow.

Follow Doctors & Physical Therapist's Advice Religiously

The final rehab step you need to achieve is to religiously follow your doctor and physical therapist's advice. There will be days when progress will be slow, and you will be frustrated by it.

You will think nothing is working, and you would want to hatch a plan yourself and follow that. However, you must resist that urge and follow professionals' advice because they have been around and they know what they are talking about even if you don't see it correctly.

3. Extra Precautions

After prehab and rehab, the last step you need to follow to ensure your comeback to Pickleball is to take extra precutions. Because with such major surgeries, you can never be too safe. Hence, follow the extra and necessary precautions:

Balanced Diet

Before, during, and after going through a major operation, it means you need to change the ways of your life if you want the extension to be permanent. Thus, the first precaution you must take to better your recovery chances is consuming a balanced diet for a quicker recovery and better overall health.

Daily Light Exercise

Another precaution is to follow a daily light exercise regimen. This activity will ensure the blood flow in your body is correct, and that you are recovering adequately.

Calorie Intake/Weight Watching

When going through an operation/post-operation recovery, a person's mobility is restricted for a while. You must watch your calorie intake during this period, as you cannot burn it off. Being overweight can hinder your progress.

Steps To Avoid To Ensure Comeback to Pickleball after a Major Surgery

Now you know the steps you must take to ensure your comeback to Pickleball. I now want to highlight the steps you must avoid if you wish to play the sport you love after a hip or knee replacement.

1. Rushing Through Any Process

A cardinal sin of recovering from a significant operation is to try and rush the recovery process. You must remain patient at all stages if you want a full recovery. Else you can say goodbye to your Pickleball career.

2. Going Too Hard Too Soon

Another step that must be avoided at all costs is going too hard too soon. I know you have patiently done your time, and you are excited to be back, but you need to pace yourself back in. Otherwise, you can injure yourself again and be out for good this time.

3. Discontinuing Physical Therapy

Once you go through a significant operation in life as important as a hip or knee replacement, you need to make peace with one thing: continuous physical therapy is now part of your life. If you try to discontinue it, you will undo all your progress.