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Sports Specific Care

Return to Throwing

PLANNING YOUR RETURN TO THROWING

Here at Athletic Edge and Wellness and Illinois Baseball Edge we understand and specialize in the treatment of the overhead throwing athlete and returning your athlete to throwing at peak performance, from youth baseball to the professional player. 

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Throwing a ball is one of the most stressful and complicated movements in sports.  It requires the dynamic and coordinated muscular effort from head to toe.  Any problem or small change in mechanics can quickly lead to pain and injury. 

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We take a multi-faceted approach to throwing that looks at the whole athlete not just the "injured body part".   Often an elbow problem has a shoulder component and a shoulder problem has an elbow component.  Furthermore, many ARM problems have connections to the LOWER BODY and CORE that need to be identified and addressed. 

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Individualized Plans

Return to throwing is an individualized plan that requires the understanding of the player’s injury, their physical and mechanical constraints, where they are in the rehabilitation process, time of season, positional and throwing volumes, training demands and time in season.

We Keep You Throwing

Our goal is to keep you throwing in some manner while you are healing.  Often throwers are told to "shut it down" for (x) weeks (there are always exceptions), however, in many cases this old school mentality can further slowdown an athlete's recovery and performance.  Rest from "abuse" is different than rest from "activity". The baseball season is short and intense in the Midwest, don't sit out more than you have to. For our throwing athletes; we have specialized equipment and training for graduated return to throwing but also for the continuum of improving your throwing velocity and performance.  

The Clinic and Facility to get you back in the game

Our combination training and physical therapy clinic offers a range of specialized treatment and equipment for return to throwing. No other physical therapy clinic can offer this type of service.  This is not a one size fits all approach, but an individualized plan for every thrower. This is unique to their injury, the time of season, their goals, the type of throwing required (pitching vs infielder) and throwing mechanics.

 

Some athletes may progress through all phases of throwing, while others may start at somewhere in the middle. Time frames for each level of progression can also vary: individual mastery is needed for each technique/drill as well as adequate time frames for healing, surgical protocols, recovery, and necessary ramp up time needed to throw at game intensity. Along the progression, continuous monitoring is needed for pain complaints and soreness which may involve adjusting timelines needed for set backs or symptom flare ups. 

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A Comprehensive and Staged Approach to Your Return

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  • A recent study showed that off 99 publicly available return to throwing program were analyzed; only 20% cited any peer reviewed evidence and evidence was >10 years old. 
     

  • 42% of programs offered no timeline for completion; only 8% provided specific return to throw guidelines.
     

  • Throwing progression parameters varied widely; from 20-45’ to 90-250’
     

  • Only 60% provided any criteria to initiate throwing the first place with the absence of pain inconsistently defined. 
     

  • Nearly 2/3 of the program lacked structured guidance for set back or symptoms flares. 
     

  • 32% provided no formal warm up: 63% offered no arm care  recommendations beyond throwing itself. 

EQUIPMENT FOR DEVELOPING AN APPROPRIATE ARM PATH

By utilizing specific equipment, we can help the arm to develop an appropriate arm path for return to throwing. Pain, where ever it occurs, especially in the shoulder and elbow creates chaos in the nervous and muscular system. When this happens, the body has an amazing ability to move around the pain. The body frequently makes these adjustments on both the unconscious and conscious level. It avoids pain.

 

Now with throwing a ball, this can just be a subtle change in mechanics, the arm slots might lower, the elbow angle might widen or the wrist might manipulate the hand position. All of the alternations occur simultaneously, as you cannot just isolate one body part. While these short-term alterations in mechanics may be advantageous, over time these adaptions create problems and/or pain. ​Addressing movement and mechanics is necessary to prevent re-injury.

Some of the equipment we use to develop an appropriate arm path:

​​​​The TAP® Baseball Training Sock is an excellent exercise for athletes returning to throwing who have been shut down for a period of time. The throwing sock allows for throwing in confined space with minimal stress on the arm as athletes begins the process of return to throwing. This promotes light load and volume on the arm in safe manner.

The TAP® Connector Throwing Club is another tool to use with athletes during their physical therapy process. The throwing club is designed to help develop a connected and efficient overhand throwing pattern. Created by Ron Wolforth, and used at both the Texas Baseball Ranch® and the Florida Baseball Ranch®, this tool to helps correct the out-of-sequence external rotation of the throwing shoulder in relation to trunk rotation at front foot contact. It is intended to replicate throwing drills and makes an excellent choice for those returning to throw to develop appropriate arm movement patterns.

The TAP® Connection Ball™ is used to position proper arm positions and receive sensory feedback of both mechanical efficiency and potential of pain reduction in throwing.  The connection ball is invaluable tool for throwing as to help address dysfunctional throwing patterns; often these patterns are the reason of injuries happened in the first place. The connection ball can be used to help those individuals with an elevated or shoulder angle, a wide elbow angle, and develop glove side control and follow through.

Weighted Balls can be used in rehabilitation and performance under the strict guidance of a physical therapist or with a highly skilled pitching coach. Weighted balls are NOT always used for throwing as many other drills can be used to develop shoulder and arm strength and capacity. Weighed balls are used for specific drills to develop confidence in throwing as well as developing a feel for arm speed. Heavier balls are often used for developing proper neuromuscular control to help the brain re-wire proper throwing patterns. Weighted ball training is not recommended for our younger athletes. 

Dynamic and Instability Training are exercises that involve moving the body through a full range of motion with dynamic movements and/or use of unstable workout tools. Dynamic training may involve the use of water balls/bags which creates full body strength and adaptability in unpredictable situations. Instability workouts engage more muscles, improves balance and coordination, enhances core strength, and boosts performance.

BlazePod® Light Reactivity Training is a reaction training system that utilizes interactive LED pods to enhance various training aspects of physical performance. Hand eye coordination is enhanced with exercises utilizing dynamic movements such as balancing, reaching, and agility. After injury or surgery, the brain must rewire movement patterns for peak performance. Blaze pods can be used with all sorts of sports training.

State of Art Plyometric Wall – plyometric training has consistently shown to improve strength and power. No other physical therapy clinic can offer this type of drill to their rehabilitation program. First, we start with lighter balls and simple patterns progressing to heavier balls and more dynamic and rotational movements needed in baseball. This helps to explosive power in their legs, core, and upper body. This power translates into stronger throws and quicker movements on the field. Plyometrics trains muscles to absorb impact forces more effectively through acceleration and deceleration which decreases the likelihood of injuries.

Arm Action Drills are exercises and movements specifically designed to improve the movement and mechanics of the arm (and body) path during baseball or softball throwing. These drills focus on enhancing coordination, strength, control, and endurance of the muscles involved in proper arm path. These drills help to develop appropriate power from the legs as well as sequencing and timing needed for optimizing velocity. Targeted drills may include focus on acceleration patterns, deceleration of the arm, or back foot rotation. Proper technique, progression, and individualization are essential for returning to throwing.

We offer Radar Guided Training.  Radar is valuable tool for those returning to throwing after prolonged injury and/or Tommy John surgery, where careful monitoring of load and volume is extremely important for long term success. Often physicians have specific protocol that have athletes build up in both distance and intensity to get to 100%. It is imperative the throwing athlete develop the ability to progressively load the previously injured tissues and develop capacity to throw and pitch in games. How does one know what throwing at 70% effort actually is? Without radar training it is only a guess and it is often incorrect.

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FlightScope®  offers the best-in-class data analytics and performance metrics for baseball players. It utilizes radar technology to track the flight of the baseball in real-time, capturing data such as pitch velocity, spin rate, release point, trajectory, horizontal and vertical ball break. and more. This data can be used to analyze and improve performance, assess pitching mechanics, and make real time decisions for player development.

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Unsure About What Your Thrower Needs?

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