I have had an influx of patients in Altoona recently coming in with complaints of pain and tingle sensations of the arm. These baseball and softball players really just want to know how to prevent injury so that they can get back on the field feeling great.

I was at a conference this last weekend in Des Moines, Iowa hosted by ChiroClasses and they brought in some great speakers. The hosts of the event brought in two orthopedic doctors from Capital Orthopedics who were both great but one specialized in the upper extremity. He mentioned how baseball players today are having more shoulder and elbow problems and he is seeing it more frequently and at younger ages. I was going to write about this topic earlier but after hearing Dr. Yanish speak, it confirmed that I needed to talk about this now.

It’s become increasingly clear in the scientific community that the problem is overuse. Many of these young pitchers are pitching in multiple leagues, all year round, on underdeveloped bones and muscles. This causes both short term and long term damage.

So how do we prevent shoulder and elbow injuries?

-Come in to see me! Chiropractic care helps keep the body in alignment so there are no impingements that could be the cause of the injury. The nature of a throw is such that it naturally misaligns the body, so often an adjustment is all that is needed to get your player back in peak performance.

-Follow the proper pitch count and rest days between pitches. If your child is on multiple teams, it is your responsibility as a parent to keep track of these numbers!

-Proper warm up, stretches pre/post game. I will be posting great stretches and exercises for baseball and softball players to do before practice and games but until then, make sure your son or daughter has a sweatshirt on their throwing arm while sitting in the dugout. That helps to keep the joint warm and blood circulating throughout.

-Coaches, if a player on your team complains of shoulder/elbow pain while throwing, take it seriously and have the arm evaluated by myself or another medical professional. It’s better to be out a few games to let the arm heal than be out for a season or two down the road. Kids heal really quickly but even they can’t heal quickly with an extensive overuse injury.

-Lastly, after the season is over, take 4 months off of baseball or softball and play a different sport to give the arm a rest. I know there is so much pressure to play a single sport year ‘round, and Malcom Gladwell’s theory of 10,000 hours didn’t help any, but every bit of scientific evidence proves it is just not worth it. More often than not our kids are experiencing injuries not previously seen in athletes until their 30s or our young athletes are experiencing mental and emotional burnout. If your child really wants to play sports at a high level, encourage them to be the best all around athlete they can be-those players are essential for any coach!

If you have questions or comments feel free to call, comment or email, I would love to help. Check back here soon for stretches and exercises that will help increase strength and range of motion for your baseball or softball players.

-Dr. Dawson