What do Pickleball and itBandz knee braces have in common?

In case you are new to Pickleball, it is a recreational racquet sport that has become one of the fastest growing sports in America. The game is easy to learn, social, a great form of low impact exercise and fun!!

You might be surprised by how many things Pickleball and itBandz knee braces have in common.

  1. They were both developed near Seattle
  2. They are both innovations based on existing concepts – racquet sports and knee braces
  3. People who play Pickleball can experience knee pain
  4. itBandz help people who experience knee pain
  5. Stacia, the founder of itBandz, has a Pickleball court in her driveway and suffers from knee pain

Pickleball was started by a former Washington state congressman, Joel Pritchard. He and a friend were looking to play badminton, but unable to find a full set of rackets they improvised, playing with wooden ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. With this collection of equipment, they played on an asphalt surface using a badminton net adjusted to a height similar to that of tennis.

Pickleball is currently one of the fasting growing sport in the US according to the US Pickleball Association. Further breakdown of participation rates by age showed that ‘core’ participants tend to be older, with 75% of core participants being age 55 or older, and 42% of all players over 65 considered to be core participants. Along with fitness benefits of the sport, many older adults enjoy playing Pickleball because it promotes competitiveness and socialization.  

Knee injuries are common in racket sports such as tennis 1, 2 and likely to affect Pickleball players as well. People who have arthritis in their knees will find great relief from itBandz knee braces. Wearing itBandz knee braces to protect and stabilize your knees will keep you and your game moving without having to wear a bulky knee brace that gets hot and sweaty.

Pickleball’s premier event, the Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships Presented by Pickleball Central, will be held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden from December 6-14, 2021. Live event coverage will be available on demand with up the minute action and behind-the-scenes commentary. Whether you play just for fun or are a competitive player, Pickleball has something for everyone.

1 Trends and Epidemiology of Tennis-Related Sprains/Strains in the United States, 2010 to 2016. [Surg Technol Int. 2017]

2 A multi-year injury epidemiology analysis of an elite national junior tennis program. Gescheit DT, Cormack SJ, Duffield R, Kovalchik S, Wood TO, Omizzolo M, Reid M, J Sci Med Sport. 2019 Jan; 22(1):11-15.

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