With spring training hopefully right around the corner and winter strength and conditioning programs in full swing it is important to have some information with regards to the overhead athlete and some quick pointers in identifying possible small problems before they become larger pathologies
1. Take your time in the pre-season: Many players will jump right back into a similar training regiment as they had been participating with at the end of the prior season. As with any muscles if you don’t use it you will loose it so realize that the new baseline for activity is dramatically different. With training there are 3 variables which include: Frequency, Duration, and Intensity and your body is good at adapting to a 10% change to ONE of these variables. Very simply put – don’t go from throwing for ten minutes to fifteen minutes & 50 to 100 feet in the same session
2. Your follow through is the most important part of throwing: Our bodies are at a biomechanical advantage to have greater force into internal rotation (one of the motions for throwing) than it is to produce force with the external rotators (the muscle group to decelerate the arm after the ball is released). A player can decrease the amount of stress placed on these smaller muscles by giving them a longer period of time to slow the arm by having an adequate follow through. In the non-throwing population typical range of motion for the shoulder is 180 degrees with overhead activities (flexion and abduction) Internal rotation 0~80 deg (depending on which medical association you reference) and External rotation of 0-90. Current research suggests that it is not uncommon to find a decrease in passive Internal rotation in throwing athletes and a decrease in the force production (in particular the “eccentric” or contraction while lengthening) of the External Rotators of the shoulder.
3. Ask for help early and often: In many instances our body will first ask us to stop an activity, then tell us to stop an activity, and finally make us stop an activity. Be aware of the early signs of problems which will include but are not limited to: pain, decreased force production, decreased ability to recover, and unintentional adjustments in mechanics. The human body in general will take a “path of least resistance” which will, unfortunately, cause bad habits to be further reinforced.
Health care and physical education is now leaning towards prevention, as it should be, with the focus on avoidance of injury as the primary focus. Before starting a season or sport it is necessary to have the proper coaching and advice in order to critique form and personal function. Experts in this area are, but not limited to: physical therapists, athletic trainers, Certified strength and conditioning specialists, and PE teachers. A team approach must be taken for every athlete and the participant has to be patient when working with a health care professional due to the necessity to build a good foundation first in order to have the ability to perform higher level tasks
In closing – it is important to have the proper preseason workout and have the proper support system to ensure good habits early on in the season and early in an athletes career. Athletes need to know when to ask for help and where to look for it throughout the entire process from the first toss to the final out of the championship. Patience is a quality that many lack but is absolutely necessary for a long career in a sport such as baseball where physical demands are ever-present and competition is everywhere.
1. Take your time in the pre-season: Many players will jump right back into a similar training regiment as they had been participating with at the end of the prior season. As with any muscles if you don’t use it you will loose it so realize that the new baseline for activity is dramatically different. With training there are 3 variables which include: Frequency, Duration, and Intensity and your body is good at adapting to a 10% change to ONE of these variables. Very simply put – don’t go from throwing for ten minutes to fifteen minutes & 50 to 100 feet in the same session
2. Your follow through is the most important part of throwing: Our bodies are at a biomechanical advantage to have greater force into internal rotation (one of the motions for throwing) than it is to produce force with the external rotators (the muscle group to decelerate the arm after the ball is released). A player can decrease the amount of stress placed on these smaller muscles by giving them a longer period of time to slow the arm by having an adequate follow through. In the non-throwing population typical range of motion for the shoulder is 180 degrees with overhead activities (flexion and abduction) Internal rotation 0~80 deg (depending on which medical association you reference) and External rotation of 0-90. Current research suggests that it is not uncommon to find a decrease in passive Internal rotation in throwing athletes and a decrease in the force production (in particular the “eccentric” or contraction while lengthening) of the External Rotators of the shoulder.
3. Ask for help early and often: In many instances our body will first ask us to stop an activity, then tell us to stop an activity, and finally make us stop an activity. Be aware of the early signs of problems which will include but are not limited to: pain, decreased force production, decreased ability to recover, and unintentional adjustments in mechanics. The human body in general will take a “path of least resistance” which will, unfortunately, cause bad habits to be further reinforced.
Health care and physical education is now leaning towards prevention, as it should be, with the focus on avoidance of injury as the primary focus. Before starting a season or sport it is necessary to have the proper coaching and advice in order to critique form and personal function. Experts in this area are, but not limited to: physical therapists, athletic trainers, Certified strength and conditioning specialists, and PE teachers. A team approach must be taken for every athlete and the participant has to be patient when working with a health care professional due to the necessity to build a good foundation first in order to have the ability to perform higher level tasks
In closing – it is important to have the proper preseason workout and have the proper support system to ensure good habits early on in the season and early in an athletes career. Athletes need to know when to ask for help and where to look for it throughout the entire process from the first toss to the final out of the championship. Patience is a quality that many lack but is absolutely necessary for a long career in a sport such as baseball where physical demands are ever-present and competition is everywhere.
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