Pickleball Associated Abrasion and Iritis: A Case Study

Abstract

Pickleball is a fast-growing sport in the US over the past decade. It is a singles or doubles volley sport combining tennis, badminton, and ping-pong. It utilizes a paddle and a small plastic whiffle ball on a court similar to but much smaller than a tennis court. Like other volley sports, the light, high velocity ball poses a risk of ocular injuries, as well as other facial, and musculoskeletal injuries. In this report, we describe the case of a 39-year-old male presenting with trauma secondary to a direct hit to the eye by a pickleball at high velocity. Despite a large corneal abrasion and traumatic iritis, the patient quickly healed with no scarring or permanent effects to his vision. Nonetheless, this case highlights the importance of patient education on protective eye wear, and the importance of immediately seeking clinical help of an eyecare professional for treatment after an accident. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of an anterior segment related injury related to pickleball. CE Notification: This article is available as a COPE accredited CE course. You may take this course for 1-hour credit. Read the article and take the qualifying test to earn your credit. Click here to Enroll (https://www.crojournal.com/pickleball-associated-abrasion-and-iritis-a-case-study) Please check COPE course expiry date prior to enrollment. The COPE course test must be taken before the course expiry date.