Spring will be here before you know it, and that means that baseball season is on the horizon. Whether you’re a high schooler or you play in a recreational league for adults, baseball is one of the hardest sports on your shoulder. Powerful overhead motions define the sport, which is why shoulder injuries can be so common even when preventative steps are taken. That said, you can greatly reduce your risk of a shoulder injury if you take a few simple steps before and during the season. In today’s blog, we share some tips for preventing shoulder injuries in baseball players.
Rotator Cuff Injuries
Your rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that help to control and coordinate shoulder movement. Excessive strain and repetitive motion can lead to compression or inflammation of the tendons of the rotator cuff or tears in these supportive muscles.
SLAP Tears
A slap tear involves an injury to the top part of the labrum. Oftentimes due to overuse, a SLAP tear can lead to painful or inhibited shoulder movements.
Shoulder Instability
Chronic overuse, especially in a weakened shoulder, can lead to ligament loosening. Your shoulder is already the most mobile and least stable joint in your body, but if these ligaments loosen due to repetitive strain, instability can develop, which can complicate the natural throwing motion and lead to additional symptoms.
Preventing shoulder injuries in baseball players really comes down to two components – A proper development plan and correct throwing form. We’ll take a closer look at each of these components:
Proper Shoulder Development
If you really want to protect your shoulder during the baseball season, you need to take some steps before practices and games get under way. If you haven’t thrown a baseball in a while and now you’re throwing a lot during tryouts or practices, this large increase in shoulder stress could put you at risk for injury. You need to begin a throwing regimen prior to the beginning of the season so that your arm is ready for the stress to come. Even Major League players undergo a version of this gradual warmup period with spring training. Hopefully your coach will work to gradually build up everybody’s arms, but don’t wait until the season starts to begin throwing.
You also need to take care of your shoulders during the season. As you probably noted above, overuse and repetitive strain is a common cause of many shoulder injuries. Don’t go outside and throw a baseball 200 times a day every day in the spring. Gradually increase the workload that you put on your shoulder, and give it some rest during the season. You also want to care for your shoulder and your arm after a strenuous practice or game by icing and doing some range of motion exercises to help keep the soft tissues in the area healthy.
Proper Form
It’s also imperative that you have a proper throwing technique. Have your coaches or a parent tweak your form if needed so that you aren’t putting excess strain on your shoulder because you’re moving it along an inefficient throwing path. If your arm gets too wide as you bring it through during your throwing motion, your shoulder is going to be working overtime to help your arm catch back up to the correct position, and this can easily overstress your shoulder joint. Having ideal pitching and throwing mechanics can help to protect your shoulder because your shoulder typically has to handle the excess strain caused by these inefficient movements.
And finally, it’s very important that you stop small shoulder injuries before they turn into a more serious issue. If you keep throwing or pitching in spite of shoulder discomfort, a minor injury could turn into a season-ending tear. Talk with an athletic trainer, physical therapist or a shoulder specialist like Dr. Holloway if you are experiencing anything other than mild soreness after a throwing session. We can help you recover from a minor or major injury, but we don’t want you to miss your season because you ignored an issue in its infancy.
For more information about shoulder injuries in athletes, or to talk to a shoulder specialist about any discomfort you’re experiencing, give Dr. Holloway and his team a call today at (865) 410-7887.
