Many baseball pitchers will encounter shoulder problems during their careers, since pitching puts a lot of strain on this area of the body. Once a pitcher hurts his shoulder, it can take a long time to come back, especially if he does not rehabilitate the shoulder properly. When rehabbing a shoulder, pitchers should begin with rest and then move onto a strength-training program. They will then begin throwing the ball again as they move closer to recovery.
Rest
You must rest your shoulder before doing any type of rehab, since the shoulder needs time to recover. Rest allows for the soft tissues of the shoulder to begin healing, while giving the swelling time to decrease. Pitchers should rest the shoulder until the pain subsides, as they run the risk of further injuring the shoulder if they rush back to throwing too quickly.
Strength Training
Before throwing the ball, you must ensure that you have regained the muscle strength in your shoulder. When going through a strengthening program, you will work on the rotator cuff, bicep, tricep and pectoral muscles. Make sure that you use dumbbells weighing less than 3 lbs., as this allows you to isolate individual muscles thoroughly. While no set time frame for these exercises exists, many common shoulder injuries require four to six weeks of strength training before you can begin throwing the ball. After a serious operation like Tommy John surgery, however, you will not begin throwing for 16 weeks.
Throwing
When you return to throwing, you will begin by throwing from about 45 ft. on a flat surface. You will gradually increase the number of throws that you make per day and the distance from which you throw. You will go through intervals throwing from 45, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 ft. Once you can complete about 75 throws from 180 ft. without experiencing pain, you can return to the mound and throw as you did before your injury.
Prevention
After you can pitch again, you should take the proper steps to minimize the chance of this injury occurring again. Make sure that you do not overuse your pitching shoulder, as this can lead to injury. Young players should never pitch on back-to-back days and should focus on their mechanics. Having proper mechanics will put less strain on your shoulder and will minimize the pain that you experience after a game. If you do experience pain, let your coach know so that he can get you out of the game before you do serious damage to your shoulder.
References
- "Journal of Athletic Training"; Functional Plyometric Exercises for the Throwing Athlete; David J. Pezzullo. et al.; March 1995
- "Hughston Health Alert"; Rehabilitation of Common Shoulder and Elbow Injuries; David Keese
- "USA Today"; A Year of Rehab for Tommy John Patients; Mike Dodd; July 2003
- DrWaltLowe.com; Interval-Throwing Program: Baseball Players; Walter Lowe
- American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine: Overuse Injuries in Baseball/Softball
