Tai Chi and Pickleball

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Dermatology has been very good to me. I recently returned from a visit to China, speaking on psoriasis treatment in 4 cities. The travel took me to Hangzhou, a city of over 10 million people and home to the headquarters of Alibaba and Deep Seek. Among Hangzhou’s best-known attractions is West Lake. Before my last talk in Hangzhou, I went for an early morning run along the lake. Not too far, though! I am not an avid runner, but I am motivated when I get to see parts of the world I have not seen before. I get a kick out of seeing what I have been missing.

There were many older folks out walking at the lake that morning, and many others were doing Tai Chi. Does Tai Chi help keep these older practitioners alive and well with its health benefits? While I am confident Tai Chi is beneficial, it is best not to be too quick to jump to conclusions based on what we see. It is possible that Tai Chi could be causing sudden death in many of its practitioners, which we might not realize if we are only observing the older people who are still doing Tai Chi lakeside every morning and not those who have died. This type of potential error is called survivorship bias. We must be careful what we conclude from observations because our observations can be misleading. I try to be mindful of what I have been missing and get a kick out of learning new things.

In this issue, we have a most timely case report on a dermatologic adverse event related to pickleball. The fastest growing sport in America, pickleball may be the equivalent of Tai Chi for older Americans. Of course, if you start small, it is easy to grow fast, at least on a relative basis. And from the looks of all the people who are out there playing, especially older folks, it might seem that, like Tai Chi, pickleball is a perfectly healthful sport for seniors to engage in. But the injured players may not be on the pickleball court. Google tells me that common pickleball injuries include ankle sprains, knee injuries, shoulder tendonitis, elbow epicondylitis (tennis elbow), and lower back pain. It was only a matter of time before pickleball started causing dermatologic issues to pop up, too. I very much enjoyed learning about pickleball-induced milia from Gomeniouk et al.’s article, and I will get a huge kick out of treating a patient with a pickleball-induced skin problem if one ever comes to my clinic.

This issue is also notable for Dr Brian Kim’s feature on itch treatment. This is the second article in our Dermatology Week series and a lovely example of translational research advancing the treatment of a previously vexing problem. To learn more about Dermatology Week, which is being held May 14–16 and October 22–24, and to get a kick out of learning how experts are navigating the new treatment options available to our patients, visit www.hmpglobalevents.com/dermatologyweek.