3 Simple ways to ‘safely’ pick up a badminton shuttlecock

It’s been years since my husband has been going for his weekly badminton game with friends but something happened during last week’s game. As soon as the badminton game was over, he bent down stretching only one side of his body and tried to reach for a shuttlecock on the floor. He immediately felt a surge of pain on his lower back.

He was in more pain the next few days and he finally gave up and went to consult a chiropractor. According to the doctor, my husband suffered spinal disc injury while picking shuttlecock, one of main causes which has brought many injured badminton players with similar symptoms to her clinic.

Many of these patients have taken this simple action for granted and tend to forget to practice safe ways picking up shuttlecocks especially when they are tired towards the end of a badminton game.

It is estimated that a badminton player would pick up a shuttlecock for an average of 50 times in a single game (this number applies for single players). It maybe more during practice sessions. Let us know and leave your comment below if you have tried keeping track of this number.

Imagine the same bending action of picking up shuttlecocks the wrong way is used that many times for an hour or maybe more, which would actually cause the player’s muscles and nerves around the spinal disc inflamed due to same twisting motion and stretch.

Here are 3 simple ways on how you can pick up a badminton shuttlecocks easily yet safely.

The Ballerina wayballerina-1299042_1280

Small objects like shuttlecocks tend to contribute to back injury because they are hard to reach when resting on the floor. Use the Ballerina way, where you slowly support your body by balancing on one leg. Then lift and extend another leg horizontally behind like a ballerina balancing. Extend your arm (the one on the same side as the standing leg) to reach the shuttlecock. If you think this pose is too feminine, think about golfers who use the same way when picking golf balls.

    
Picture source : Experiencelife.com

SQUAT   The ‘Stick your butt out’ way
This method uses your leg muscles more than your back muscle, thus preventing back injury. First lower your body by bending both legs. Slowly bend your body forward and reach for the shuttlecock. No body twisting involved here which is good.

SQUAT

 

P1120831The BADMINTON way

This is the most ideal and ‘stylish’ method because most top badminton players can do it effortlessly. I have been eyeing on them and wishing I could do that too. I’m hopeful with this blog, readers who try the steps below will soon be good at it too.

Here’s how. First position the shuttlecock on the floor so that the cork’s tip is facing you.

Hold your racket loosely by touching the racket handle only with your fingers. You should have a gap in between your palm and racket handle.

Align racket with the shuttlecock’s body.  If you are holding the racket with your right hand, the shuttlecock should be on the left of racket and vice-versa. Racket’s angle against the floor should be about 45 degrees or less (almost horizontal) to the floor for easy pick up. Racket and shuttlecock should constantly touch each other.

RacketPosition1

Lastly simply twist the racket by moving your fingers slightly, in a swift motion, scoop up the shuttlecocks. Ideally, the shuttlecock should be able to roll and land onto your racket head.

View the video (Courtesy of Victor) below for clearer instructions.

Comment below and let me know which method is the most effective and easy! Have a safe badminton game!

16 Comments on "3 Simple ways to ‘safely’ pick up a badminton shuttlecock"

  1. Nice Post

  2. These tips will surely help any level player to pick the right badminton shuttlecock for them.
    Looking forward to getting more from you!

  3. Thank you for sharing an awesome article on the selection of badminton shuttlecock.
    Keep Sharing, looking forward to hearing more from you.

  4. am i the only one who sucks at it

  5. I am using Voltric Z force II but feel pain in my wrist and shoulder after few games. Looking for good light weight balanced racket for advanced games

    • Hi,
      Assuming you’re using a Yonex Z Force II in 3U, perhaps you should try a lighter racket like below.

      Light rackets with slightly heavier head.
      APACS STERN 90 OFFENSIVE BADMINTON RACKET
      ABROZ NANO POWER Z-LIGHT BADMINTON RACKET
      ABROZ NANO POWER Z-SMASH BADMINTON RACKET
      APACS NANO FUSION SPEED XR BADMINTON RACKET
      ABROZ NANO 9900 POWER BADMINTON RACKET
      APACS FORCE II MAX DARK GREY 4U (REPLACEMENT FOR Z ZIGGLER FORCE 2)

      Hope this helps and have a nice day!

      – BadmintonBay.com

  6. Hi I am facing this same issue, back pain started after picking up shuttle with left hand after a one hour game.

    I would like to know what treatment has done for this injury and how is he now?

    • Hi there,
      Thanks, he is much better now, thanks to his periodic visits to his chiropractor.

      Our body and all muscles need to recover from physical strain from sports such as badminton.
      And the recovery time varies from every individual.
      Here are some of the practices injured players should do:
      1) Do warm up exercise before game, do some simple stretches after game
      2) Put an ice pack to area affected after any games.
      3) Pay a visit to a chiropractor for quarterly maintenance.
      4) Play less frequent games for body to recover sufficiently.
      5) If pain still persists, seek help from professionals.

      -Catherine

  7. last year i got a serious injure when i was smashing. From then i am finding the best tactics to play better without get injuries. I think this post will help me.

  8. very infomative and ur article helps me to avoid injuries.

    i love The Ballerina way

  9. Great Article Catherine. Very useful to avoid injuries.

  10. Majeed Alnajjar | August 30, 2017 at 5:27 pm | Reply

    The best way to pick up the shuttle is by the racket. I have been using this way for years and suffered no injuries.

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