OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Cody Fischer remembers the day he felt a big pop in his foot while playing the sport he loves.
"A few years ago now, I was playing a tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and in the middle of one game, I felt a big pop in the middle of my foot," Fischer said. "It almost came to me as something people would describe when talking about tearing their Achilles or rupturing their Achilles. "
It was so bad that Fischer could not walk out of the facility he was playing in with torn connective tissue in his foot.
Doctor Julia Black, a non-surgical orthopedics and sports medicine physician said that she has seen a trend of more severe injuries — such as fractures and severe sprains — in people 60 and older. But, it could happen to anyone. Black said to stretch properly to avoid the chance of an injury.
"For warming up stretches is dynamic stretches, moving stretches," Black said. "So doing windmills, flexing your elbows up and down, moving your wrists — doing them in circles. Figure-of-eight's is one other thing I like to tell people to do. Getting those muscles and tendons warmed up, increasing the blood flow, can help prevent those injuries."
Those stretches, Fischer said, could have prevented his injury. He said that it's important to monitor your health while on the court.
"But to really get a sense of your body, am I able to do kind of those quick movements? Am I able to do this? That's obviously the last thing anyone wants to see, is someone fall. The pickleball community is good about watching out for all people, whether it be some of the older members that play, or anyone in general," he said.
Despite his injury, Fischer's bond to the sport still remains close.
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