Sports focused physical therapy & performance training in Algonquin, IL
Sports Specific Care
In-Season Arm Care
In-season arm care involves being ready for game-time performance at any moment, but also be able to recovery from daily and weekly competition throughout the season. Fatigue is the enemy of the throwing arm. In-season arm care requires a balance between frequent high intent throwing, recovery, and the maintenance of mobility and strength. Training thresholds need to be lowered and geared towards combating fatigue, maintaining off season gains, and maximizing performance.
Red Flags: Warning Signs Your Arm Needs Attention
Chronic Soreness or Pain: If your arm feels sore for more than 24 hours after throwing, it’s your body sending you a warning signal. While some muscle soreness is normal, persistent pain needs attention.
Decreased Velocity: Notice your fastball losing some zip? Velocity drops can be an early indicator of arm fatigue or mechanical issues that need addressing.
Poor Accuracy or Control: When your control starts to slip, it’s often because your body is compensating for weakness or fatigue somewhere in the kinetic chain
Understand that pain, discomfort, or continued soreness is a sign your body is out of sync which could happen for a variety of reasons; too much volume/load, poor warm-up/recovery, or poor movement patterns/mechanics plus mobility and strength imbalances.
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Our team of overhead throwing experts can help to identify causes to your pain as well as provide appropriate and timely treatment. The sooner pain is addressed, the faster the return to play and the sooner optimal performance can be restored. Pain changes how we move, so even small alternations in movement over time can wreak havoc on your pitching and throwing mechanics.
For every week you are not throwing, it takes 2 weeks to return to previous levels.
The first step in this process is to understand and treat the acute effect of pain. Understanding involves the location of the pain, how it impacts your throwing (pain during cocking vs ball release), what your positional demands are, and whether the pain impacts other daily or athletic activities, time frames for competition, etc.
IN SEASON PAIN MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
WORKLOAD MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
When pain subsides, a gradual return to throwing is advised to prevent further problems. The high school and travel seasons are short and a 2-week break from throwing due to pain/injury can quickly impact HALF of your season!
Adjusting volume and/or distance of throwing: Players may need to limit the number of throws, for example, switching to a reliever role in pitching vs a starting role while recovering from an injury. Limiting the number of high intensity throws is another way to modulate throwing. For other players, it might involve limiting infield distance throwing (avoiding longer throws from 3rd base). Pitchers may also be advised to play the field to limit the number of high intensity throws. This can be an effective solution to keep a player throwing in season without putting increased stress on the arm.
Adjusting training parameters or in-season exercise program: An in-season training program may need to be modulated based on injury location and recovery. Less frequent and intense lifting is often required.
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Heavy grip intense work (dead lift, squats, dumbbells) should be avoided especially the day before heavy throwing/pitching. These muscles are constantly fighting the effect of fatigue from high volume of throwing and to recover in enough time for the next game/outing.
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Eccentric training should be avoided.
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Exercises with high risk and low reward should be avoided. Examples may include: high box jumps, overhead press/work, barbell snatch, triceps dips, barbell biceps curls, bench press, power clean moves, and barbell snatch. These exercises can place undo stress on the shoulder and elbow.
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Avoid training to failure.
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Watch form with exercise.
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Making sure 1 day a week is dedicated to rest,
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Follow the 2/2/2 principle. 2 heavy days, 2 medium days, and 2 light days of training. Pitching is always considering a heavy day. Light days should be kept light.
Adjusting warmup routine: Multiple warm up plans may be needed for pitchers depending on how much time is available. Customized warms up may be programmed for individual needs and injury/recovery. Often standardized team warmup can be too short and lack the necessary variation. It does not account always for different body types and roles within the team or game situation.
Recovery Techniques: A player should have consistent post-game recovery plan. This might involve NormaTec, voodoo bands, foam roll, mobility exercises, and low intensity weights. Pain may occur from poor recovery. This routine may vary when recovering from an injury.
Movement and Mechanical Adjustments: A use of a TAP® Connection Ball™ can be used to improve timing and arm syncing with the lower body. Most often tweaks are made in season where too much correction can derail performance. Remote training is available.
Pain in-season can severely impact your performance and your season. A structured approach to identifying red flags, managing pain, modifying workload, and recovering properly is essential for staying healthy and playing your best.
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If you require in-season care, please call our office as soon as possible at (224) 505-3343. The sooner we can address issues, the sooner we can get you back to performing your best!
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