Catching and Catchers discussion "Catchers thumb"

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Anyone ever have to deal with this injury? DD injured thumb warming up pitcher before our first game tonight. Then caught two games. She has full movement, but some swelling. By the end of game two, she was having trouble "squeezing" the ball. Any idea how long this takes to heal? She wants play through it, but should she? Thanks for the info.

 

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Judging by the way your pitcher brings it I can see why I have not had it, but my college roomate had it at Akron (Catcher for the Zips) - He said that it started in High School catching their pitcher (threw low 90's) - Always bothered him from there - His parents bought special mits, pads, gloves you name it. Just a bad spot - I hope this isn't the same thing, but the coach at Akron finally had to have a special molded pad made for his catchers mit - Good luck this weekend and I hope your DD can manage the pain until it heals.

 

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Sorry to hear that, first I'm not a doctor just a coach. If the swelling is on the palm side just below the thumb sounds like a hyper extended thumb. You sometimes get it from catching someone new your not use to that throws hard. Bad news is it takes a while to heal, the good news is it "usually" dosen't get any worse, so I've been told. Tape before, ice after she catches. See if your travel coach knows an athletic trainer to show you how to tape it, if not your HS coach should know one (most HS have one). She how she handles it, it's pretty painfull and good luck.

 

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Pre-16u, my wife would catch my DD in her pitching lessons. She developed this problem. It's not necessarily the impact, but rather the constant bending backward of the thumb that causes the pain and swelling. Gel pads (or padding in general) won't really alleviate the problem - you have to stop the bending of the thumb.

Our sports med doctor made a "Theromplast Splint" for her thumb. He softened a piece of plastic material and custom fit it over her thumb. It hardened into a splint. It has a velcro wrap that goes around your hand to hold it in place. The whole splint fit snugly inside the catcher's mitt. It worked so well that I had one made for myself! Instant relief - and no more thumb bending. It actually helped stop some of the stinging from the impact too.

It technically is a medical device, so it was covered under our insurance.

 

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I know the pain and it sukks!!! Like Sammy said, it is just the constant bending back of the thumb on the catch. Either a device like Sammy and his wife have, or a whole lot of Ibuprofen!!!

 

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daughter catches for her varsity team and had the same problem. Thumb was bending to far back. sports medicine doctor made up a plastic splint and it took care of the problem.

 

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My daughter had the same problem last year as did the other catcher on the team and both went to the same sports med doctor. My daughter had the plastic splint but couldn't fit it in her glove but it did help for volleyball. The other catcher couldn't play and almost had to have surgery-it depends on if the ligaments are torn or strained. This year my daughter's thumb immediately started hurting again and getting a 34" glove helped. Good Luck!!

 

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Thanks for all the great info. We got knocked out of tourny last night, she caught the 1st half of two more games. Tried to play short but couldn't open her fielding glove far enough. Took her to Urgent Care this morning. No break, just dislocated. Doctor immobilized it. Lot of ice an rest. Found a product online called Catchers Thumb that can be heated and molded just like Sammy and Douglas K said. We're gonna give that a try. THANKS ALL!!

 

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Thanks for all the great info. We got knocked out of tourny last night, she caught the 1st half of two more games. Tried to play short but couldn't open her fielding glove far enough. Took her to Urgent Care this morning. No break, just dislocated. Doctor immobilized it. Lot of ice an rest. Found a product online called Catchers Thumb that can be heated and molded just like Sammy and Douglas K said. We're gonna give that a try. THANKS ALL!!

Looks very similar to the one our doctor made. Now it's "over the counter"!

http://www.catchersthumb.com/

 

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My catchers in HS both had this and the Athletic Trainer said it is common. It is the fat pad between the thumb and the index finger. Ice after games and take IBuprofen. Good luck!