How To Keep Playing Pickleball
One live hour to see why your aches, fading energy, hesitation, and slow recovery may be more connected than they look, and what to do first about it.
Save my seat. It’s free.You’ll also take your personal Keep Playing Score during the session.
Does this sound familiar?
You still love the game. Your body is starting to have opinions.
- Your shoulder starts talking to you in game two.
- Your back feels fine on the court, then tightens on the drive home.
- You see a ball you used to reach, and your body hesitates.
- Mentally, you have another game in you. Physically, you’re done.
- You can play hard today, as long as you leave time to recover tomorrow.
- You’ve started to wonder how long you can keep playing.
Most players explain all of it with one sentence: “I’m getting older.” Age matters. But it can stop you from asking a better question: what has stopped working together?
You don’t have to accept aches, fading energy, and long recovery as your normal. They’re signals. And signals are something you can learn to read.
Why the problem keeps moving
The Compensation Cascade
Your body is brilliant at keeping you in the game. When one area falls behind, another takes over. Eventually, the area doing the extra work starts to complain too. That’s why a shoulder gets better, then a back starts, then a knee acts up.
- One area falls behind
- Another takes over
- The extra load builds
- Symptoms multiply
- You protect it and do less
Your shoulder may be the smoke alarm, not the fire. In this hour, you’ll learn how to look for the fire.
What you’ll learn in the hour
Six systems. One connected player.
Each system gets a few minutes: what you may already feel, a new way to look at it, and one thing you can start using.
Trust Your Body Again
Why hesitation on the court is often a brain-body protection pattern, not a lack of courage.
Calm, Sharp, and On Time
Why fast hands start with a calm, well-organized brain, and how your breath can help.
Move Without Protecting Something
Why the place that hurts may not be where the pattern began.
Fuel the Game, Not Just the Day
What to eat and drink before and after play so you don’t run out of game in game three.
Be Ready to Play Again
How to play today without paying for it tomorrow.
Build a Body for the Game You Want
Why playing pickleball isn’t the same as being trained for it.
Yours to keep
Take the Keep Playing Score
During the session, you’ll rate six statements about your game from 1 to 5. Your lowest number shows where the problem is loudest right now, so you stop guessing what to work on first.
- Movement
- Energy
- Recovery
- Reaction
- Fuel
- Trust
It’s an educational tool, not a diagnosis. Your lowest number shows where it’s loudest, not where the pattern began.
The Keep Playing Score
Rate each 1 to 5 · 1 = rarely true · 5 = consistently true
| Movement | I move without protecting something. | |
| Energy | I finish the pickleball I want. | |
| Recovery | I’m ready when I want to play again. | |
| Reaction | I stay sharp as games continue. | |
| Fuel | What I eat supports my game. | |
| Trust | I trust my body to go after the ball. | |
| Total | / 30 |
How it works
Three simple steps
Save your seat
Register at the link below. It’s free, and takes less than a minute.
Join me live at 6:00 pm MST
We’ll go through the six systems together, and you’ll take your Keep Playing Score.
Leave knowing where to start
You’ll have your Score, a clearer question, and a better sense of what deserves attention first.
Is this for you?
Built for players who want to keep playing
This is for you if…
- You’re an active pickleball player, generally 50 or older.
- You want to keep playing for years, with confidence.
- Pain, stiffness, fatigue, balance, reactions, or recovery are affecting your game.
- You’ve tried tips, stretches, or rest, and want a plan instead of more disconnected advice.
This is not for you if…
- You want an individual medical diagnosis from a public session.
- You want a promise that one exercise or supplement will fix everything.
- You have severe, worsening, traumatic, neurological, or cardiac symptoms. Those need proper medical evaluation.
- You’re looking for stroke mechanics or tournament strategy.
Your host
Hi, I’m Dr. Tom Lankering
I’m a brain-based chiropractor in the Roaring Fork Valley of Colorado, and I’ve spent more than four decades watching how bodies adapt, compensate, and recover.
What I kept seeing was the same pattern. Active adults blamed age, or chased one body part at a time, even when their movement, energy, confidence, and recovery were all changing together. I built this session to give players a clearer way to understand what they’re experiencing and decide what deserves attention next.
- In practice since 1984
- Colorado Presidential Chiropractor of the Year, 2005, and past President of the Colorado Chiropractic Association
- Co-author of Wake Up the Happy Brain with Drs. Bruce Lipton and Joe Dispenza
- Host of Healthy Lifestyles on Aspen TV for 25 years
What happens at the end
I’ll teach first. Then, for players who want personal help applying what they’ve learned, I’ll share how the 8-week Keep Playing Pickleball group program works. It’s a small group of 10 players. There’s no obligation, and everything in the session is yours to keep either way.
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. The live session and your Keep Playing Score are free.
How long is it?
Plan for about 60 minutes, live online, starting at 6:00 pm MST.
Do I need to be an advanced player?
No. This is based on your ability to keep playing, recovering, and building capacity, not your rating.
Is this just another injury-prevention talk?
No. I won’t run through a long checklist of stretches, shoes, and braces. We look at why apparently separate problems may be connected, and where yours is loudest.
Does this replace medical care?
No. This is educational information. It doesn’t diagnose a condition or replace individual medical care. If you have a new injury or severe symptoms, please see a licensed healthcare professional.
Will you be playing more pickleball three years from now, or less?
Another month can pass with the same pattern: playing, protecting, recovering, and wondering which problem to chase next. Or you can spend one hour looking at it differently.
The goal is not to force your body to act 25 again. It’s to help the body you have now work together well enough to support the game you love.
Save my seat. It’s free.Live at 6:00 pm MST · www.howtokeepplayingpickleball.com