Why your shoulder hurts after pickleball (and it is not the paddle)
ReadThe paddle gets blamed. The shoulder blade usually deserves it.
Most pickleball shoulders are not a paddle problem. They are a shoulder blade problem: it stops tilting up as the arm goes overhead, so the rotator cuff gets pinched on every reach. Three to four hundred reaches a session add up.
Start by measuring how far you can lift the arm pain-free. Then train the muscles that rotate the blade, slow and light, before you add speed. If your number does not move in two weeks, book an evaluation.
General information, not medical advice.




