When you pitch or bat while playing softball you place considerable stress on your shoulders. This stress can trigger the onset of painful inflammation or tearing of the structures in your shoulder joints. Children and teenagers can develop additional problems related to the lack of finished growth in their shoulder bones and joints.
Tendinitis
The joint between your shoulder blade socket and your humerus is held in place with the help of four separate muscles known collectively as your rotator cuff. When you repeatedly use your shoulder for throwing or batting motions, you can inflame the tendons that anchor these muscles to your bones and trigger a condition called rotator cuff tendinitis. If you develop this condition, likely symptoms include pain when you move your arm, nighttime pain in your affected shoulder and pain or weakness when you raise your arm or perform overhead activities such as reaching for high objects or brushing your hair.
Muscle and Tendon Tears
Over time, chronic inflammation in your tendons can cause one or more of them to tear. Overuse of your shoulder can also cause tearing in one of your rotator cuff muscles. In addition to pain when you lift or lower your arm, potential symptoms of a rotator cuff tear include a crackling sensation when you move your shoulder, a noticeable shrinking or thinning of your shoulder muscles and weakness that occurs when you attempt to lift or rotate your affected arm. While most tears occur through wear and tear, you can also tear a rotator cuff muscle or tendon if you receive a direct shoulder impact.
Treatment and Prevention
If you have softball-related pain in your shoulder, see your doctor for proper diagnosis. Potential treatments for rotator cuff inflammation include rest, avoidance of painful activities, applications of some kind of cold source, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications and physical therapy designed to strengthen the structures in your cuff. Potential treatments for rotator cuff tears largely follow the same course as treatments for cuff inflammation. In addition, your doctor may recommend surgery to repair a tear if nonsurgical treatments prove ineffective or you plan to continue your involvement in sports. You can help avoid shoulder injuries during softball by improving your sports technique, warming up thoroughly before you play and increasing the strength and flexibility of your shoulder muscles and joints.
Injuries in Children
Children and teenagers have immature bones and joints, and therefore have specific shoulder-related risks when playing softball or other throwing sports, according to Dr. Mike Lauffenburger of Hughston Health Alert. For instance, repeated throwing motions can loosen ligaments in the shoulder joint and place painful stress on the shoulder's muscles and tendons. In addition, children and teens who throw too often or too much can damage the growth plate in the upper end of the humerus and trigger a painful condition called epiphysitis. Ask your doctor and a physical therapist for more information on softball-related shoulder injuries.
