Given more than 50 million people are over 65, this seems trivial.

Doubt it.
 

Cardiovascular disease is and appears to always be the number one health care dollar and killer expense of Americans. Glad to see that pickleball players are attempting to be as active as possible. Knee and hip injuries are nothing compared to heart disease and related issues.

Better to wear out than rust out

Geez, if pickleball is that rough I'll stick with the Villages Hockey team

The $377 million in health expenditures those players are projected to accrue only accounts for 0.01% of annual national health expenditures.
If anywhere between 9 million and 36 million Americans are only causing 0.01% of the total annual spend on health by playing pickleball, that doesn’t seem alarming.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization says almost 500 million people will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes or other noncommunicable diseases attributable to physical inactivity, between 2020 and 2030, costing US $27 billion annually.

I don't know, isn't the number # killer of seniors, even above heart attacks, slipping in the shower ? Think I'd rather go on the golf course or the pickle-ball court ! But to each their own.

You need exercise to stay independent. Diet and exercise go hand in hand. Many injuries happen because people who start playing pickle ball lack balance, strength, and mobility. There’s more to starting any exercise.
I’m a personal trainer and can’t help but notice all the poor posture I see during my walks.
I can help anyone who wants to improve their sport.

By pass vs knee
 

Not sure I agree, I had a quad by pass at 60. I was back to work and back in the gym in 6 weeks. I know multi friends and some relatives who had knee replacements and suffered for months and will never do the things they did before. Also both involve a lot of pain but looks like the knee replacements are much longer lasting. Now hips are a different story. I had one replaced in November, walked with a cane for a week, walked normal after 3 weeks and returned to golf in 6 weeks with it feeling perfectly normal with no side effects.

I'm glad all these people play Pickle Ball...don't want them all on the beach tennis courts.

Very few get hurt playing beach tennis and it's so much easier on the knees, hips, back, etc...

Keep playing Pickle ball please!

Diet is far more important than exercise. Pickle ball will do very little to clear out the plaque that most Americans have built up in their bodies over the years if people do not change their eating habits. If you are taking Viagra, then you will probably be more prone to injury as it is the canary in the coal mine for heart disease.

Tim O’Donnell Reveals He Suffered Heart Attack During Challenge Miami
url]https://www.triathlete.com/culture/news/tim-odonnell-reveals-he-suffered-heart-attack-during-challenge-miami/[/url]

Also be careful if playing pickleball and taking statins. One side effect of statins is torn tendons, especially the achilles.

And especially if on blood thinners, for any head injury, go to the ER to be sure there is no brain bleed.

To paraphrase Dirty Harry, people got to know their limitations.

When I was 40 I quit playing softball and platform tennis because I kept getting hurt. When I was 65 I tried PB for the first time, and ruptured my achilles. (I was on no medications at the time, so that wasn't a factor). I vowed to never play PB again. However my wife was having so much fun, I broke that vow. I have been addicted to PB now for 3 1/2 years.
What PB has done for me is to have inspired me to take better care of myself. I spend about an hour a day doing exercises to increase my strength and flexibility, and to do some cardio work.
I have made many new friends playing PB, and lost a few lbs as well. After a vigorous session, I feel completely exhilarated.
Turns out, my mistake wasn't taking up PB at the age of 65, but giving up sports at the age of 40 instead of taking care of my body in such a way to allow me to continue.
Whenever a newbie asks me for advice, relative to taking up PB, I caution them. "Go slow, and learn how to take care of your body. If you jump on the court and go all out, like you could when you were a teenager, you'll get hurt."

And how much golf, softball, biking and any other active sport costing American?