We hear it often
on television or read it in the paper of a
pitcher “going under the knife” for surgery.
More times than probably we need to hear. Don’t
quote me on the statistic, but in professional
baseball. An organization averages 10-20
surgeries in a year. Too many in my book, and we
are only talking about the pros. What about all
the college, high school, and younger pitchers
playing? The numbers get big and they should
not.
The question I
have for you is what is the most common injury
to the pitcher? An easy question to answer and
you probably either said the shoulder or elbow.
And you are correct. The majority of
injuries/surgeries to the pitcher are either to
the elbow of shoulder. Why is that?
The answer is
two-fold when you get down to it. The pitching
motion is an extremely stressful action
performed by the body. The stresses placed upon
the elbow and shoulder are extreme when
pitching. It occurs in a repetitive manner every
time you throw a baseball. And it is only
exasperated by throwing down hill on the mound,
which places greater stress on the body.
Secondly, these
anatomical parts of the body are made up of many
small muscles. These small muscles in the elbow
and shoulder are required to handle very high
workloads every pitch. Eventually these small
muscles can become fatigued and once this
occurs. The possibility of injury increases
significantly and performances are likely to
drop.
What can a
pitcher do to combat the stresses placed upon
the elbow and shoulder during the pitcher
motion? It is necessary for pitchers at any
level to implement a comprehensive shoulder and
elbow training program. This type of program
will develop the required levels of endurance
and strength within these muscle groups to
handle the stresses of throwing a baseball.
These parts of the body will become less
fatigued creating a higher possibility of
extended performances, and less risk of injury.
If a pitcher does
not utilize this type of program on a consistent
basis the probability of injury increases
exponentially. Performances are likely to drop
when pitch counts get high, and the ability to
develop proper pitching mechanics decreases.
Sean
