Pitching Arm Injury? Blame Anyone But Your Arm
Posted on Thursday, May 28th, 2009
Hey guys!
Thanks for all the great feedback about the new “video blog” format. You ask for more….I’ll give you
what you want. That’s the way it rolls here at the INSIDER BLOG!
Without further wait……let’s get to this weeks blog
PS. Be sure to watch how Garrett from Detroit sees why asking questions not only makes him the star of this
weeks show….but entitles him to some awesome FREE stuff over at: http://www.LoadToExplode.com
Keep up the comments and questions guys! We are heading into the official start of Summer and things
are certainly heating up here at the INSIDER!
Best in health and baseball,
Jeff
Hey Jeff, I love your stuff and the Insider Training program is great. I can feel myself getting stronger. I’m a college pitcher and I’m from Waynesburg, Ohio. I have a question for you. I was told from my coach that a long stride length and flexible/balanced hips are important for increasing velocity. (He used Tim Lincecum as the example) How do I get that type of Tim Lincecum flexibility in my legs, groin, and hips?
Thanks Jeff!
Hey Mike! Thanks for the kind words about the Insider Training Program and I’m glad you’re getting the results I knew you would! Keep up the good work. As far as your question regarding what your coach has told you, I want to start by commending your coach for the good advice. Unfortunately, all too often the advice of some coaches is anything but good, and what’s worse is that it’s given without an understanding of the consequences and how much most young athletes take their coaches suggestions to heart. Bad advice given to a good kid who wants to do what his coach says….is a bad combo. In this case, I agree with your coaches assessment on the importance of flexible and balanced hips. I’m not, however, as concerned as the length of the stride however as much as I am the flexibility of the hip flexors to allow for a longer stride? Follow me? To me…the hips are everything for a pitcher. The hips are the accelerators that drive the ultimate speed of the arm. When the hips are in balance they can rotate around an axis with little loss of momentum. This produces insane amounts of torque…and this is good. When the hip flexors are tight or if the internal/external rotators are out of balance the pelvis is like a bowling ball teetering on the gutter. They wobble and are unsteady and the slightest additional force (like the landing foot striking the ground) is enough to send that ball into the gutter and in the case of pitching, send the pitch out of the strike zone. Lincecum is a tremendously gifted athlete, and a very naturally flexible one at that as well. That said, he routinely works on his flexibility and correctly doesn’t just focus on his arm/shoulder but to an even greater extent on his lower body. For you, I would suggest a combination of BOTH active and passive stretches. The passive stretches like a static lunge stretch (for the hip flexors), heel over knee stretch (for the internal rotators), and knee over stretch (for the external rotators) are a great way to increase the resting length of the muscles, particularly if they are done every day before bed time. From an active stretch stand point, Spiderman Crawls, Walking Lunge Rotations, and Overhead Lunge Twists are all tremendous ways to loosen up the hips and allow them to do what they are geared to do. Capture the power generated below and intensify it even more as it creates tornado like torque to the upper body and ultimately the throwing arm. Hope this helps Mike! Feel free to pass along the info to any other teammates as well! Here to help you all get better! Jeff
Jeff,
I have a piggy back question off of Mike’s. I too am a college pitcher and I have heard that one reason hips may not be able to completely and freely rotate is because the hamstrings are pulling them out of alignment. What I have heard, and it is true for me, is that the hamstring on a pitcher’s landing leg is more flexible than the hamstring in their arm side leg. Do you believe this to be true or just a nice thought? If this is true how do I go about evening the hamtrings up? Anything more than just a basic hamstring stretch?
Hey Jeff,Like Garret,my son is also feeling a pinch like pain in his throwing shoulder.I’m wondering what type of procedure would an orthopedic doctor do to diagnose this problem.Would this require an MRI or a physical?
Thanks,
Mike
hi jeff , i love watching your videos on correct training and technique. i have really learned alot in a short period of time keeping track of your blog. i am a baseball dad with a 14 year old son. i attempted to get him started on some light weight training a few months back but he just didnt seem very interested in it. my problem is that he is very involved in the “club” baseball scene which is an extremely competitive environment. to keep him competitive i thought the weight training would help. so i guess my question is this: what age would you say a youngster should get involved in weight training? i am thinking that it is possible to get a good workout with a med ball for my youngster. i would appreciate your thoughts on the matter. sincerely george
Hey Kaleb,
No…it’s more than just a nice thought…it’s largely true! The reason the landing leg is more flexible than the stance leg is that it is actively stretched more during the stride portion of the delivery. The key there is “actively stretched”. In order to equalize the hamstring length discrepancy you need to focus on actively stretching the stance leg hamstring as well. This can be accomplished with front to back leg swings and side to side leg swings. A simple move yet, but one that will elongate the hamstring by utilizing the hip flexors and abductors to inhibit the hamstrings and allow them to stretch. I think the major flaw most people make in trying to equalize flexibility is to apply whatever stretch they are doing to BOTH sides. If there is a muscle flexibility imbalance, stretching both sides will only prolong the imbalance. So let’s get you to start by “actively” stretching your hamstrings via leg swings (front/back and side/side) on your stance leg only. This little move can go a long way. Retest your flexibility after two weeks and post to let me know if it’s not getting better ~ Jeff
Mike,
Like I said in the opening of the video….it’s all too common a problem. In order to diagnose the problem, an orthopedic MD would conduct an evaluation first and do certain “provocative” tests to try and see if the problem were more muscular or joint related. If it was muscular (like a rotator cuff tendonitis that would show up on physical testing) he might just prescribe rest and NSAIDS. If the problem appeared to be “deeper” in the joint or there was significant weakness on testing the strength of the shoulder and cuff, the MD would then most likely order diagnostic testing (XRay to rule out fracture and then MRI) to see if there was a more significant labrum (lining of the shoulder joint) or rotator cuff tear. The important thing is this however. No matter what it winds up being….too often the only thing treated is the symptoms. In this case…the pain in the shoulder. However, the CAUSE 99% of the time was lies elsewhere, and ignoring the root of the problem will never allow the problem to go away for good. Always remember that. As we talked about in the video….look elsewhere like in the midback, hips, even the feet. I know, hard to grasp…but we are one big kinetic chain. One broken link somewhere along the chain makes the whole chain nonfunctional. If I were the one looking at your son, I could tell him with pretty strong certainty where the cause lies…and in doing so, prevent this from recurring. That is what you should look for in the ortho that you choose. Hope this helps and thanks for the question. Feel free to contact me with any other questions regarding your son. Jeff
Hi George,
Your assumption that strength and conditioning for your son would be appropriate for keeping him physically and competitively up to speed as he makes his way through the “club” baseball scene is 100% right. What’s more, at the age of 14, he is definitely not too young to start. I actually recommend little leaguers begin a body weight only program to learn how to utilize and control their bodies in space. They become stronger, more coordinated and better players at a younger age. Sports movement is skilled movement, and like anything else, benefits from repetition and intervention at a young age. I can sympathize with him about disliking the workouts though. I was the same way, until it all just “clicked” one day. I was inspired by watching guys like Darryl Strawberry (with the long, lean, muscular body mashing homers to the opposite field) and I was sold on the benefits. Your son will see it’s importance as well, it just may take him a bit longer. The med ball would be a good way to get his interest up and make it feel as if his workouts were more like a “game” than “work”! Jeff
Hey Jeff. Thanks for all the videos you are putting up. I have learned a lot and look forward to more. I have a couple questions for you. In the past 3 years I have had two shoulder surgeries, both SLAP repairs. My most recent surgery was a little over a year ago and I have been throwing for about 3 months now on a progressive throwing program. Overall, I feel pretty good and have definitely improved over the past 3 months. I am stronger now than I have ever been because of some of the things I have seen in your videos. I have really concentrated on my core and back this time around, unlike after the first surgery. However, I still have pain in the posterior shoulder, right around the teres minor/infraspinatus area. I know those rotator cuff muscles are external rotators, but am I experiencing pain there because they are trying to decelerate my arm when I throw or is it possibly just how it is going to be after having two shoulder surgeries? For example, I have strengthened my external rotation to the point where I am using black thera-band and the biggest BodyBlade and I still experience pain. Do you have any suggestions as to what I can do? I’ve read some of your responses above obviously, but I did not know if your answer would change with someone who has had two shoulder surgeries. Thanks a lot Jeff and keep the videos coming!
Ryley
Hi Ryley,
Thanks for you question and your background, which will allow me to give you a more accurate response. From the area of discomfort that you are detailing, as well as the strength that you are currently demonstrating in your external rotators, I am leaning more towards the possibility of scar tissue accumulation from the two surgeries that you’ve had at the site of the inferior labrum attachment. In the case of your SLAP repairs, much work was going on right in this area, which also shares body real estate with the infraspinatus and teres minor. See what I’m saying? You can attempt some soft tissue mobilization in the area in the form of a sports massage on a fairly regular basis and see if that doesn’t start to relieve some of the discomfort. In terms of your decelerative work, you didn’t mention whether it hurt during the exercises or not, but I would just start with some of the ones that are “isometric” in nature that don’t require the arm to be controlled through space just yet. Something like a “walkout” where you pin your arm at 90 degrees to your side and step away from the anchor point, not allowing your shoulder to go into internal rotation. Work up to that pain free and then start to progress to the more dynamic decelerative exercises. Address the soft tissue as well, for that is my main suspicion from afar, that might be creating this lingering discomfort. Hope this helps and I look forward to your continued reading and participation on this site. Keep an eye out for Load To Explode next Friday…that stuff will be right up your alley! You’re going to want to get in on the first 200 for sure! Jeff