Overuse injury mitigation

[08DDF2]

Recently my daughter experienced shoulder pain due to an overuse injury. I took this for granted as she usually has no issues with here arm. She recently played an indoor tournament with 6 games and played about 4 of the games as the catcher and rest of the innings at various positions in the field. By the end of the day her shoulder was hurting bad to the point it still hurts weeks later. My question is what softball catchers can do to mitigate injuries during high volume tournaments. In the meantime, I bought on heck of an ice pack and she will be in a sling till she gets cleared. After she gets cleared, she will be training her shoulders via crossover symmetry, we will be monitoring her amount of throwing like a baseball pitcher, and icing after practices and games like a pitcher. Recovery, strength and proper form is my thought process.

 

[jpkeating]

I think a good start would be to not let her play another position when she’s not catching. Catchers and pitchers use there arms allot, and really should not play another position when there not pitching or catching or you will run into overuse problems.

 

[daboss]

There are a host of reasons why she had issues. I suggest taking time to meet with a doctor to be sure there are no physical problems. It could simply be a case of tendinitis but why not error to caution. A cortisone shot can be a miracle healer and along with some rest could have her back throwing very soon. Also, consult a skilled coach to be sure she's throwing with the proper mechanics. It is very easy for a catcher to have proper throwing techniques fall apart that puts the extra strain on the shoulder and arm.

 

[Letsgo10!]

My daughter is a pitcher/shortstop and started having severe shoulder pain. Doctor said it was a muscle imbalance which is very common for softball and baseball players. 8 weeks of physical therapy and no throwing at all! No more pain. He said basically it was her body’s way of saying it is time for a break. So I would definitely get it checked now so it doesn’t cost your daughter her summer. Good luck!

 

[tschromm3]

I'm no doctor so I won't guess as to the injury, but usually a shoulder isn't where you would feel fatigue or the dreaded "dead arm period". Overuse soreness should be more in the bicep or behind the shoulder.

Two things I see in our game that make me cringe that lead to arm issues:
1. No long toss before practices or games. There is no better way to build arm strength and avoid injury like playing long toss properly. I see too many players grab a ball and immediately start firing it at each other from 15' and do that for 2 minutes and are like, "We're good!" No, you're not!
2. Catchers that feel the need to fire the ball back to the pitcher every pitch. Catchers already make a ton of throws during a game. If you figure another 60-70 throws back to the pitcher during a typical game, that adds up! No need to go max effort on a 43' throw. Get it back firm, no lollipop, no laser.

Take care of your arms!!
Hope your daughter is back to 100% soon!

 

[CoachRonLMFP]

My daughter is a 3B, and also plays volleyball. Her shoulder started bothering her during volleyball season, and has continued on through the winter. She went through PT and they diagnosed it as tendinitis in the shoulder. The PT didn't help much she was still in constant pain. The only thing that has helped is she has recently started seeing a Medical Massage technician, and the use of KT tape has also worked wonders. Looking forward to her being full strength for school ball season.

 

[08DDF2]

Thank you all for the posts. She is doing better, she went to the doctor after the first post.Due to age(11) and her growth plates being open the symptoms were a sign of inflammation in the soft tissue causing pressure on her growth plate. Which makes sense since her shoulder was sensitive to the touch pretty much anywhere. Now its been doing better with limited to no use, ice twice a day, and advil. Her first statement was I feel good can I play. We had to tell her no. She has gone to throwing clinics with Wassserman Strength and her coach uses a lot of his techniques in practicing. During her injury she was batting 3 times a week(she loads her scap heavily during her swing) and playing basketball tournaments and practicing as well as softball practice 2 times a week. I just think she over did it. To Coach Ron a good chiropractor and a massage tech can be some of the best tools for an athlete.

 

[daboss]

Thank you all for the posts. She is doing better, she went to the doctor after the first post.Due to age(11) and her growth plates being open the symptoms were a sign of inflammation in the soft tissue causing pressure on her growth plate. Which makes sense since her shoulder was sensitive to the touch pretty much anywhere. Now its been doing better with limited to no use, ice twice a day, and advil. Her first statement was I feel good can I play. We had to tell her no. She has gone to throwing clinics with Wassserman Strength and her coach uses a lot of his techniques in practicing. During her injury she was batting 3 times a week(she loads her scap heavily during her swing) and playing basketball tournaments and practicing as well as softball practice 2 times a week. I just think she over did it. To Coach Ron a good chiropractor and a massage tech can be some of the best tools for an athlete.

I'm sure everyone concerned took a sigh of relief once you found out what was really wrong. Thank you for sharing the diagnosis. I suspect you knew all along what to do but some times it simply makes you feel better to hear that's how others would approach the problem. Give yourself credit for being a good parent. Many good parents don't get to hear that enough.

I hope you have a fun-filled softball summer!