Most padel injuries are not dramatic. They are the slow, nagging sort that build up because people walk straight from the car park onto the court and start smashing. Padel feels gentle, so the warm-up gets skipped. Then a fortnight later the elbow is grumbling or the calf twinges on a sudden lunge. A short, sensible routine stops most of this before it starts.
A warm-up that actually takes five minutes
You do not need a gym session. You need to get your heart rate up a little, loosen the joints you are about to load, and rehearse a few padel movements before you do them at full speed.
Start with two or three minutes of easy movement. Jog on the spot, do some side-to-side shuffles across the court, a few gentle knee lifts. The aim is warmth, not exhaustion. Once you feel a bit warmer, move into dynamic stretches rather than the old-school hold-and-count ones. Leg swings forwards and sideways, arm circles, torso rotations, a few slow lunges with a twist. These wake up the shoulders, hips and back without cooling you down.
Then rehearse the game. Knock up gently for a couple of minutes before you play for real. Start with soft blocks near the net, work back to easy groundstrokes, then a few controlled overheads at half power. Your shoulder and elbow get to warm into the smash motion instead of being asked for full power cold. If you are still choosing kit, our racket finder and shoe finder help you get gear that suits your body, which matters more for injuries than people think.
The injuries you actually see, and why
Padel loads specific parts of the body in specific ways. Here are the usual suspects.
Padel elbow
This is the classic. It is the same idea as tennis elbow, an overload of the tendons on the outside of the forearm. It usually comes from gripping too tightly, using a racket that is too heavy or too stiff, or hitting a lot of balls off-centre near the frame. Prevention is a lighter grip, a racket that suits your level, and building up your playing volume gradually rather than jumping from once a week to four times. If it flares, back off, ice it, and let it settle before it becomes chronic.
Shoulder
The overhead smash is the main culprit. Repeated overhead hitting, especially cold or with poor technique, irritates the rotator cuff. Warming the shoulder into the smash motion, not over-hitting when you are tired, and some basic shoulder strengthening off court all help.
Ankle
Padel is full of quick lateral movements, stops and changes of direction. Rolled ankles happen when you plant awkwardly, often on a worn shoe with no grip left. Proper padel or court shoes with lateral support make a real difference, which is exactly why we keep the shoe finder on the site.
Lower back
The bandeja and vibora, those overhead shots played with a slightly arched back, put load through the lower spine. So does twisting at speed. Core strength and not over-arching help, as does warming the back up properly before you start launching overheads.
Calf
The dreaded calf strain, sometimes called the padel calf, tends to hit players over 35 who push off hard for a low ball. A cold calf under sudden load is asking for trouble. Warming up, easing into sprints and staying hydrated all reduce the risk.
During the game
Play within yourself early on. The first few games are not the time for full-blooded smashes. If something starts to hurt in a specific spot, that is information, not weakness. A sharp, localised pain is a reason to stop. General fatigue is normal, but pain that makes you change how you move is worth respecting.
Warming down
When you finish, do not just stop dead and sit in the car. Walk about for a couple of minutes to let your heart rate come down. Then some gentle static stretches are fine here, calves, quads, hamstrings, shoulders and forearms held for twenty to thirty seconds each. This is also a good moment to drink and, if it has been a hard session, to note anything that felt off so you can keep an eye on it.
Consistency beats heroics. A player who warms up, builds volume slowly and stops when something genuinely hurts will get far more padel in over a year than someone who goes flat out and spends every third week nursing an injury. If you want help building good habits, a session or two with someone from our coaches list is money well spent, and if you are brand new the getting started guide is the place to begin.
FAQ
Do I really need to warm up for a social game?
Yes, even more so. Social games often start slowly and then suddenly get competitive, which is exactly when cold muscles get hurt. Five minutes is enough.
How do I avoid padel elbow?
Grip more lightly, use a racket suited to your level rather than the heaviest one, build your playing volume up gradually, and rest at the first sign of soreness rather than playing through it.
Is padel high impact?
It is lower impact than running, but the quick lateral movements and overhead shots still load the body. That is why the ankle, calf and shoulder show up on the injury list.
Should I stretch before or after?
Do dynamic movements before you play and save the longer held stretches for after, when your muscles are warm.