This week's issue is arriving a day late due to a scheduling hiccup on the email platform, I’m still working out the small things on the site, my apologies.

Pickleball players spend endless hours talking about paddles, spin, and grip pressure, yet most of the aches and pains that send them to the bench have little to do with any of those things. They come from the small, stabilizing muscles quietly holding everything together. These are the ones that don't get much attention, but when they fatigue or fail, the bigger muscle groups have to take over, and that is when breakdowns begin.

This issue focuses on those hidden workhorses. In the first article, we will look at which small muscles protect your shoulders, hips, and feet, and what happens when they start to give out. In the second, we will cover how to strengthen them, how to maintain their firing under fatigue, and how to prevent the slow, creeping overuse that sidelines so many players each year.

Sometimes the biggest difference in how long you can play comes down to the smallest muscles you almost never think about.

The muscles that keep pickleball players healthy are not the ones anyone brags about. They are not the ones you feel burning after a long rally or the ones that fill out your shirt sleeves. They are the small, stabilizing muscles buried under everything else, the ones that keep your joints centered and your movements balanced. When they weaken, fatigue, or simply stop doing their job, that is when the bigger, flashier muscles start to overcompensate, and injuries quietly build.

The rotator cuff is a perfect example. It is a collection of four small muscles around the shoulder that work together to keep the ball of the joint stable in its socket. They do not generate much power, but they control the direction of it. Every drive, dink, or overhead depends on those muscles coordinating perfectly with your shoulder blade and core. When they tire, the ball in the socket starts to shift slightly, and over time that microscopic wobble becomes irritation, then inflammation, then pain.

The same story happens lower down with the hip stabilizers, particularly the gluteus medius and the deep rotators. They control how your leg moves and absorbs force when you lunge, rotate, or push off for a shot. When those stabilizers weaken, the knee and ankle begin to take the load instead. That is why hip strength is one of the strongest predictors of knee and back health in racquet sports. A single-leg balance test often reveals just how much one hip dominates, which explains why players sometimes feel "off balance" only on one side.

And then there are the intrinsic foot muscles. These are the tiny stabilizers that control how your foot interacts with the court. They keep your arch active, your steps springy, and your push-offs efficient. When they fatigue, you start to roll your ankles more easily, and the kinetic chain above them has to adjust. Most plantar fascia issues begin with those small muscles losing endurance.

The irony is that these unsung muscles do not need much attention to stay healthy, but they do need consistency. They respond best to low-load, high-frequency work, a few minutes a day rather than an hour once a week. Keeping them active means your body spends less time correcting itself and more time playing freely.

You might not notice when they are working, but you will always notice when they are not.

Training your stabilizers is less about brute strength and more about control. These muscles respond best to precision, consistency, and small movements performed with attention rather than exhaustion. They act like the fine-tuning knobs on a stereo. You do not always notice them when they work, but when they are off, everything feels slightly out of sync.

Start with the rotator cuff. Resistance bands are ideal because they strengthen through control, not momentum. External and internal rotations, done slowly with the elbow at your side, target the cuff while keeping the larger shoulder muscles quiet. Focus on movement quality instead of resistance. Scapular retraction drills, such as low rows or "Y-T-W" raises, add coordination between the shoulder blade and the cuff itself.

The hip stabilizers need work that mimics real play. Single-leg balance drills, side-lying leg raises, and controlled band walks train the gluteus medius and deep rotators to hold your hips level through motion. If one leg always feels weaker, practice balancing barefoot for thirty seconds at a time on that side. The goal is not just strength but symmetry, since imbalance often predicts future pain.

For the intrinsic foot muscles, think about connection to the court. Towel scrunches, toe spreads, or balancing barefoot on a wobble cushion teach your feet to stay active and reactive. A good test is whether you can press your big toe into the ground while lifting the others. If that feels impossible, it means those small muscles have gone offline.

These stabilizers do not need to be trained until exhaustion. They thrive on repetition, not fatigue. A few minutes of low-load work three or four times a week does more for longevity than a heavy gym day once a month. The goal is to build endurance and coordination that supports the bigger systems without draining them.

The best players do not necessarily have the strongest muscles; they have the most efficient ones. Their stabilizers know exactly when to fire, how much to contribute, and when to relax again. Strength in subtlety is what allows power to flow freely.

The muscles that protect you are not the ones you see in the mirror. They are the quiet ones that work behind the scenes to keep every movement stable and controlled. Keep them active, give them attention, and they will repay you with years of pain-free play. Sometimes the best investment in performance is the one no one notices.

Boris.

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read in this newsletter.