Treating Arm Pain
"No Pain, No Gain is a lie!"
Arm pain in baseball is more common than ever. Around the country thousands of pitchers, as young as 10 years old, are experiencing debilitating pain and severe injuries. And while there is no way to guarantee pain-free throwing, the medical knowledge of the arm in throwing athletes is growing by the day. We have your solution, and it starts here!
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Whether you are in pain or not, our process for training pitchers centers on eliminating the potential for injury. Check out Our Process if you are NOT experiencing pain. For those of you who are experiencing pain or injury, you have come to the right place.
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We believe that most, if not all, arm pain is a result of many contributing factors and not just one thing. Below is a graphic showing the top 4 reasons that we believe arm pain is an epidemic among pitchers. Within each of these 4 categories are multiple contributors to pain. Mechanically alone their could be 20+ different inefficiencies that cause pain or injury. Unfortunately, unless you know to look for these contributors and then specifically train to address them, the pain (no matter how much rest you take) will not improve.
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Now for our action steps:
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We believe (evidenced from 2000+ evaluations) that every pitcher is facing around 5-10 significant contributors to pain or lost velocity. With this in mind, we work to address those starting with the most clear contributor to pain or injury. Every pitcher must constantly be training, whether you are in pain or not and the first step is learning what those contributors are...and we can do just that.
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If you are experiencing general pain and want to be evaluated, read about our evaluation process and call us anytime to schedule an evaluation with Bill Thomas, our Physical Therapist and arm pain specialist who has seen and evaluated over 200 pitchers in the last 3 years.
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If you have recently had surgery and/or recently seen a general orthopedic specialist for serious arm injury or pain, call our clinic, Professional Therapy Solutions at (601) 898-1828 and schedule a general appointment with Bill Thomas (insurance may apply)
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Physical
Throwing a baseball is learning to move well as you deliver the ball. Mobility, flexibility, balance, and joint stability all play a major factor in your ability to get the body into stable positions. Every pitcher must know his body so these can be addressed.
Workload
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Youth baseball has created a culture of throwing more and training less, leading to incorrect throwing patterns done in high volumes, creating an epidemic of arm injury and pain.
Weakness
For decades pitchers have mistakenly associated strength training with risk of injury, inadvertently causing the arm excess stress and making velocity gain nearly impossible. The strength needed to play at an elite level must be trained year-round.
mechanics
Why does your coach tell you to throw a certain way? Mechanics are often taught by someone who is not trained in human movement. We believe proper mechanics are simply learning how the arm was made to move, and how the body is most powerful.
ARM PAIN FAQ
IS ARM SORENESS OR PAIN NORMAL AFTER THROWING?
Arm pain is never normal and is a signal of unhealthy stress, which could become a significant injury.
Soreness should be looked at on an individual basis, as a variety of factors (pitch count, recovery, preparation, etc.) could be at play.
HOW CAN I AVOID TOMMY JOHN SURGERY?
TJS is a reconstruction of the ulnar collateral ligament (ucl).
We work with all pitchers to minimize the potential of this injury by eliminating aspects of the throwing motion that have shown to stress this ligament.
For those recovering, we have seen incredible success with our current and former pitchers, often times recovering faster than anticipated and throwing harder than before surgery
CAN I TRAIN AT PTS IF I AM IN PAIN?
Yes. One of the greatest benefits of training in a medically-based throwing program is the knowledge of our staff with regards to pain and injury.
We use special training methods and tools that many times can diminish pain in only a few sessions. We only recommend not throwing for those who have a significant injury.
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Our programs are designed to eliminate pain by discovering which aspects of the throwing motion or body need to be developed and/or corrected. Even when the arm is recovering, the body can still be trained.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO TO RECOVER AFTER PITCHING? ICE? RUN?
We recommend avoiding ice and long-distance running as a post-outing ritual. Running will do nothing to aid pitcher recovery because there is no lactic acid build up in the body. LIkewise, ice is not necessary because it reduces bloodflow, the very thing that will heal tissue and repair muscles used during exercize.
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We recommend performing banded exercises for the shoulder and using a technique called "flossing" that will stimulate bloodflow.
CAN MY PITCHING COACH HELP ME WITH MECHANICS TO AVOID PAIN?
We believe there are great benefits to using a pitching coach, especially regarding pitch selection.
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Unfortunately, most pitching coaches are unable to see which aspects of your movement are hindering your ability to get into certain positions or throw more efficiently.
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Additionally, many teach mechanics that are not founded in the knowledge of the arm and/or body.
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SHOULD I AVOID LIFTING WEIGHTS TO DIMINISH THE RISK OF ARM PAIN?
Weight training should always be done under the supervision of a professional strength coach who specializes in training athletes.
Many times injuries occur because proper movement patterns have not been taught. Adding weight to a faulty movement pattern is why most young athletes are injured during weight training.
The training itself should be pitcher specific, but generally speaking is a great way to create explosive power and strength.