Neighbor News
Youth Baseball and Softball Injury Prevention Tips
Athletico physical therapists share advice to avoid injuries this spring and summer
Countless youngsters and their families will spend hours on end at local baseball and softball fields this spring and summer. But what is meant to be a fun experience can result in injury, followed by weeks or months of rehab.
To reduce the likelihood of injury and help softball and baseball players play to their potential, Athletico physical therapists have outlined some tips to follow before, during and after practices and games:
- Upgrade your arm/shoulder workout: Rather than static pregame arm stretches, research now supports a dynamic warmup to wake up the arm muscles. Theraband resistance exercises are a perfect way to warm up the arm, elbow and shoulder. The external rotation warmup – pulling a theraband (that is anchored to the opposite side) across your body while keeping your elbow bent at a 90-degree angle – is a great option.
- Don’t forget the lower body: the majority of power for throwing and hitting comes from the lower body, but oftentimes players focus solely on the upper-body warmup. Athletico physical therapists recommend a dynamic lower body warmup, such as a series of walking lunges with arms overhead and lateral lunges, to loosen the lower body muscles ahead of activity.
- There’s an app for pitch counts: the risk of injury significantly increases when pitchers exceed recommended pitch counts. Now there are pitch-count apps, making it easy for coaches and parents to keep track of total number of pitches, as well as balls and strikes.
- Post-game cool down: too often players’ post-game routines include arm and shoulder strengthening exercises, which stresses muscles that are already worn out. To speed the healing process, conduct light stretching followed by icing sore body parts.
Great care should be taken to avoid injuries! That’s why it’s important that youth and their parents understand how to prevent them and properly recover from the wear and tear that may occur during practices and games. If you'd like to learn more or schedule a free assessment in-clinic or virtually, visit Athletico.com.
