Common badminton injuries: where they happen and what the evidence says about warming up
The usual injury sites, why a warm-up is recommended, and how weak the evidence still is.
Why this matters
Badminton asks for repeated lunges, stops, jumps and overhead hits. The joints that do the work, mostly in the legs and the shoulder, are the ones that get hurt. Knowing where problems appear helps you plan your session; it does not replace medical advice.
Where injuries occur
A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of Asian studies covered eight studies, 1,265 players and 2,284 injuries. It found that about 57% of injuries (pooled estimate, wide uncertainty) were in the lower limb, with the ankle and knee most often affected, and that the shoulder was the most common upper-limb site in several studies (Sharma et al., JASSM 2025).
What the authors recommend, and the limits
The authors suggest improving warm-up routines so that muscles are ready, and avoiding overtraining, especially for injuries that occur early in play. They also warn that the studies differ a lot from one another (very high heterogeneity), that publication bias is likely and that injury definitions are not standardised. So the numbers are an indication, not a promise: a warm-up is reasonable, but no study here shows that a given routine prevents a given injury in recreational players.
What you can do in a session
- Start lighter than you will play: walking, light steps, easy shadow movements, then faster steps and gentle overhead swings.
- Do not make your first hard lunge or smash of the evening at full effort.
- Increase the number of sessions gradually. The authors advise avoiding overtraining; spreading the increase out is our reading of that advice.
- Stop when pain starts, rather than playing through it.
Where to go next
Our lessons on beginning a warm-up and on small steps and split step give specific movements. This article does not prescribe an exercise programme or treat an injury.
General practice advice: play within your limits and stop if something hurts.