The Pickleball Medicine Program · Buford, GA
Play forDecades.Not seasons.
The clinical arm of The Long Game. A pickleball-specific assessment, treatment, and return-to-play program at Georgia Spine & Sports Rehab in Buford, led by Dr. Joe Krzemien, D.C.
The book gives you the system. The clinic is where the system gets checked. One room. One hour. One qualified set of eyes on how you actually move.
Three habits. One clinic.
Small habits.A longer game.
The Long Game runs on three habits. The Morning Five, a short daily routine that keeps essential movement skills current. Two Sessions, weekly strength and movement work. And the Annual Deep Look, a yearly review of your movement capacity with a qualified professional.
The first two happen at home and on the court. The third happens here. The Pickleball Medicine Program is the Annual Deep Look, built and run by the doctor who wrote the protocol.
How the program works
Assess. Treat.Prevent. Return.
Four pillars. Each one earns the next.
Assessment
A 60-minute movement screen built for pickleball. Hips, calves, shoulders, balance, and change of direction, tested the way the game asks for them. You leave knowing what is working and what needs attention.
Treatment
Hands-on care matched to the finding, not the trend. Active Release Techniques, Graston, manipulation, ARP Wave, Erchonia laser, and decompression, used where the assessment says they belong.
Prevention
Targeted work for the tissues pickleball loads hardest. Hip, calf, rotator cuff, and change-of-direction training that fits around your games instead of replacing them.
Return-to-play
Tested, not guessed. You are discharged when you are back at normal playing volume, not when the pain goes quiet.
The Five Breakdowns, seen in the clinic
What breaksin pickleball players.
The pattern is consistent. Pickleball elbow (lateral epicondylitis). Rotator cuff tendinopathy and subacromial impingement. Achilles and calf strain. Plantar fasciitis. And falls, which too often end in a wrist fracture.
The fall numbers deserve attention. Ghattas et al. (2024) reported that pickleball-related fractures rose about 90-fold between 2002 and 2022, most of them at the wrist, most of them in women over 60.
Nearly all of these are load and capacity problems. They can usually be seen coming. That is the point of looking.
Stated honestly
What the researchactually says.
Schnohr et al. (2018, Mayo Clinic Proceedings) associated tennis with up to 9.7 years of added life expectancy. Oja (2017, BJSM) and Watts (2022, JAMA Network Open) found similar associations for racquet sports. These are observational studies. They show association, not cause.
None of them studied pickleball. The protocol does not claim to extend your life. The claim is narrower and more useful. Players who keep their movement capacity tend to keep playing, and the work that protects it is small enough to sustain. That is the long game.
Read the full evidence reviewWho we see
Every player.Every level.
You play three mornings a week and want to keep it that way.
Higher volume, higher stakes, shorter windows to recover.
Growing bodies playing an adult volume of games.
The largest group we see, and the group a yearly look serves best.
The same standard Dr. Joe holds for the professional teams he serves.
The games you look forward to. The work that fits around them.
The doctor
Twenty-three years.One standard.
Dr. Joe Krzemien, D.C. has been in practice for 23 years. He is the current team chiropractor for the Atlanta Dream, now in his 10th season, and served 13 NFL seasons as team chiropractor for the Atlanta Falcons. He was inducted into the PFCS Hall of Fame on February 28, 2025. Georgia Spine & Sports Rehab has been named Best of Gwinnett every year since 2012.
He is also the author of The Long Game. The clinic program and the book are one system, written and run by the same person.
Full bio and verified credentialsThe Long Game
A pickleballlongevity protocol.
The Long Game: A Pickleball Longevity Protocol by Dr. Joe Krzemien, D.C. is the full system in five parts. The Diagnosis. The System. The Five Breakdowns. The Long Game in Practice. Your Version of the System.
The waitlist is open at drjoepickleball.com. No payment. No purchase commitment. A place in line, and a note when the book is ready.
Sources: Schnohr et al., Mayo Clin Proc, 2018 · Oja et al., Br J Sports Med, 2017 · Watts et al., JAMA Netw Open, 2022 · Ghattas et al., OJSM, 2024
Questions
Beforeyou call.
Do I need a referral?
No. Call the clinic directly at (770) 614-6551 and ask for the Pickleball Medicine Program. We will schedule your 60-minute assessment and let you know what to bring. If you have prior imaging or notes from another provider, bring those too. They help, but they are not required to get started.
What happens in the assessment?
A 60-minute movement screen built for pickleball. Dr. Joe tests the hips, calves, shoulders, balance, and change of direction against what the game actually demands. You get a clear picture of what is working, what is not, and what to do about it, with a plan matched to how often you play.
I am not injured. Should I still come?
Yes. That is the Annual Deep Look, and it is the habit most players skip. A yearly review while you feel fine tends to catch capacity problems before they become time off the court. Think of it the way you think of a dental cleaning. Routine, brief, and worth keeping.
How is this different from a regular chiropractic visit?
The program is built around pickleball, not a general complaint. The assessment tests the movements the game asks for, treatment is matched to those findings, and prevention work targets the hip, calf, and rotator cuff specifically. Discharge is tied to your playing volume, not a symptom score.
How long until I am back on the court?
It depends on what we find, and we will not guess. Some players keep playing at a modified volume during care. Others need a short break. Either way, return-to-play is tested, not assumed, and you are discharged only when you are back at your normal playing volume.
Can I book online?
Not for this program. Booking is by phone only at (770) 614-6551, so we can place you with the right amount of time and answer questions before you arrive. The clinic is at 4325 S Lee St, Buford, GA 30518. Call during office hours and mention pickleball.
Georgia Spine & Sports Rehab · Buford
Play. Recover.Return.
The best part of the game? Getting to play again.
Book your Annual Deep Look by phone. 4325 S Lee St, Buford, GA 30518.