Is Your Back Strong Enough For Pickleball?....A Quick and Valid Test You Can Use To Determine Your Back’s Readiness

When you think of pickleball performance you think about skillful shots and the ability to move and change direction quickly. What you may not be thinking about is the strength and endurance of your back muscles to support all of the sudden forward bends to reach and return the ball. 

Think about it, when you are running and then abruptly bending to reach the ball hundreds of times during one game something has to control your upper body and also help you return to an upright position to go after the next shot. Yeah, that’s your BACK!!!! 

When your back muscles are weak and fatigue prematurely your performance as the game progresses can drastically decline and lead to you losing the match and worse it can result in an injury that takes you out of pickleball for an extended period of time. 

Whether you are a Pro or a recreational player, don’t let the “forgotten” deconditioned back muscles sideline you!

The Biering-Sorensen Test can help you determine your back’s (as well as your glutes and hamstrings) readiness to play pickleball AND it can serve as a barometer for you to test in the future to measure improvement! This test has been studied and validated in high quality research studies^1,2 and is the quickest and most practical tool for you to use.

Precaution:  If you have a history of back pain, hamstring injury, or glute issues you should seek the evaluation and guidance of a skilled healthcare professional.

Here is How To Perform The Test...

Equipment: Stable Massage or Therapy Treatment Table, Roman Chair, or Flat Weight Training Bench as a last resort and a stopwatch on a smart phone or clock with a second hand. (Please see Figure 1 and 2 below) 

1.) Lying on your tummy, move your upper body off the foot of the table leaving your hips and pelvis on the table placing your hands on the floor kind of in a push up position. So, essentially, only the top half of your body is off the table. A friend or trainer can hold and brace your legs on the table/bench or you can perform independently on a Roman Chair bench by securing your ankles under the pads on the bench. ⬇️

2.) Elevate your upper body to neutral and cross your arms and place your hands on opposite shoulders. Start the time and hold that position as long as you can with good form. Once you start compensating by hyper extending or squirming or losing your posture or you just can’t hold the position any longer, stop the time and that is your result in seconds. ⬇️

Interpret Your Results 

• > 180 seconds = Excellent

• 130 - 180 seconds = Above Average To Good

• 90 – 130 seconds = Fair

• < 90 seconds = Poor

• < 60 seconds = Very Poor 

Strength and endurance training for your back, glutes, and hamstrings should be an important component of your overall preparation strategy for Pickleball and your injury prevention strategy! If you scored 130 or above, you want to stay there and still shoot for some improvement. If you scored 129 or below and you love playing pickleball, you should seriously consider consulting a skilled trainer or physical therapist to get your scores up!

Remember....You can’t manage what you don’t measure....so hopefully you can use this test to find out where you are today...and implement a program to improve your performance on this test, it will very likely improve your performance and also protect your back!

Sincerely,

Dr. PickleDink^TM

Reference

1.) Castro-Piñero J, Marin-Jimenez N, Fernandez-Santos JR, Martin-Acosta F, Segura-Jimenez V, Izquierdo-Gomez R, Ruiz JR, Cuenca-Garcia M. Criterion-Related Validity of Field-Based Fitness Tests in Adults: A Systematic Review. J Clin Med. 2021 Aug 23;10(16):3743. doi: 10.3390/jcm10163743. PMID: 34442050; PMCID: PMC8397016.

2.) Biering-Sorensen, 1984. Mannion et al., 1999; McGill et al., 1999.