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Throwing a ball with velocity and accuracy is a vital part of certain sports like baseball, softball and football, and if you develop pain or discomfort in your shoulder region, it can significantly affect your ability to throw. We regularly help athletes prevent and treat throwing injuries so that they can stay on the field, and we wanted to use today’s blog to share some of the ways we work with athletes to help keep their shoulders, elbows and arms healthy throughout the season. Below, we share some tips on how athletes can work to avoid throwing injuries.

Preventing And Treating Throwing Injuries

If you want to strengthen your shoulders and arms and reduce your risk of a throwing injury during your sports season, consider these tips:

  • Gradual Progression – Gradually increasing your throwing duration and intensity is very important as you work to get ready for the season. If you haven’t thrown much during the offseason, don’t jump right into a midseason throwing progression. Slowly work to get your arm loose without throwing as hard or as far as possible. You need to gradually work to get your arm ready for the season so that it’s peaking at the right time, and if you don’t slowly increase your workload, you may find that your arm is fatigued by midseason because you asked it to take on too much, too soon. This also plays into our next point about overuse.
  • Be Wary Of Overuse – When it comes to movements that involve throwing or intense overarm motion, a few good repetitions are better than a large amount of repetitions. Your arm will be in much better shape after throwing a 30-pitch bullpen session than a 100-pitch session, so long as you’re really focused on your mechanics and trying to make those 30 reps as effective as possible. This also goes back to the above point about gradual progression and how you want to be peaking at the right time during the season. If you put too much strain on your arm early in the season, especially if you didn’t give your arm time to gradually progress in intensity, your shoulder and arm may develop some overuse-related injuries like muscle strains or tendonitis. Pace yourself and give your shoulders ample rest between practices and games.
  • Connect With A Physical Therapist – One of the best ways to prevent throwing injuries or treat shoulder problems that develop during the season is by connecting with a physical therapist. We can assess your shoulder strength and create an individualized program that will improve your shoulder strength, flexibility and stability so that the area can handle the stress you put on it when throwing. We can develop these types of programs for any athlete, whether you’re looking for an offseason strength training plan, a midseason program or as part of your recovery process following an injury.
  • Make Sure Your Mechanics Are On Point – Everyone throws a little differently, and these minute differences in mechanics can really impact the amount of stress that’s put on certain areas of your body. We have video analysis systems that can break down your mechanics frame by frame to see if something is off with your throwing form. We can help make subtle changes to your mechanics so that you’re not unknowingly putting excessive strain on your shoulder or elbow because of your throwing motion.
  • Listen To Your Body – The final piece of advice that we want to give is to make sure that you are listening to your body. Young athletes may feel the pressure to play through the pain or discomfort or to continue playing a sport year round, and that can leave them susceptible to injury. If something just doesn’t feel right, even after going through your stretching and warm up routine, let a coach or parent know. Putting additional strain on a weakened or injured area is a recipe for a major setback. It’s better to miss one or two games than to push through discomfort and end up missing the rest of the season because you tore a tendon in your arm. Take care of your body during the season and listen for signs that a small injury requires your attention.

For more tips on how you can avoid throwing injuries this season, or for help with a different issue, reach out to the team at OrthoRehab Specialists today at (612) 339-2041.

Dr. Andy Masis, PT
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