catcher's hairline fracture thumb problem

my daughter had a hairline fracturein her thumb. the doctor told her to rest it for 2-3 months. so we started up again last week after almost 4 months and she still has pain. she wraps her thumb and wears a glove under her mitt. the pitcher is throwing around 60mph. and my daughter has a nokna glove. i know she still has inflammation around her thumb. the nokona glove is kinda thin but was wondering about getting a mitt with more padding. has anyone have any ideas or expierence with this?

 

Not sure

Not sure where to find the devise but one of my former catchers bought a brace to help her thumb and it did not affect her ability to put thumb in mitt. Try www.softball.com. There are special padded batting gloves that might work as they pad the thumb.

 

Years ago when my dd caught, she developed a sore thumb. I ended up going to the local CVS and buying an elastic thumb brace which had metal stays in the thumb to support and brace it. Worked like charm but had to replace the stays a couple of times - apparently metal fatigue. A catcher on my dd's travel team also developed a sore thumb. I told her dad about my solution, he bought one for her and it solved the problem for her as well.

 

Thumb's Up !!

I broke my thumb in a skiing accident years ago, and it still bothers me at times especially if I hit it against something. This pain might be a permanent issue with your daughter, and it might be something she might have to get use to. But for her sake I hope it gets tolerable for her to continue !!

Guru

 

MAYBE?

You had mentioned that your daughter was already wearing a extra glove underneath her mitt-I do know that they make a "tight" weight lifting glove thats padded with support to the wrist. It might or might not help....

 

My daughter catches as well and hasen't run into this problem yet.Sounds like she maybe catching alot of balls on the thumb area.This glove is one of the best around and has great padding also has a larger webb.Akadema makes awesome glove I'm sure she will love it once it is broken in which doesn't take very long if using shaving cream.Good luck and hope your daughter over comes this nagging injury.here is the glove model and link to the site!!!

http://baseballtips.com/akadema/akfastpitch.html
APM-S66C$89.90

 

Might work

Has she ever caught with a first basemans glove. Most of the catches will be in the web and not on the thumb.

 

One thing you may want to do is consult your doctor or your PT on developing a thumb guard that will help with her injury. Depending on the location and type of break, she may need different type of support than the standard one bought in stores.
Below is also a web page that will show you how to make a custom thumb guard.
http://www.propitchinglessons.com/catchers_thumb_guard.html
Another option is to look into a first baseman’s mitt. I know several players on the college level that use a first baseman’s mitt instead of a catcher mitt. If I am not mistaken WndMillR uses one when he catches. They can help take some of the pressure off of the thumb.
Also it does not hurt to address her fundamentals on receiving a pitch. I am not talking about just framing the ball. Sometimes after an injury, going back to the fundamentals can help. Catching fundamentals need to be stressed the same way we do with pitching or hitting fundamentals. This needs to be more than going to camps a few times a year. Camps are good, but it takes a lot of work all season long. I see a lot great athletes that are catchers, but they could be better with the proper training. I have seen several catchers with the issue of a sore thumb. Usually a few adjustments helps a lot.

 

The Correct Way !!

The correct way to prevent thumb injury is to show target ,drop or flex wrist /hand down. Then receive ball as it enters the plate zone.This allows thumb to stay clear of impact..

Guru

 

Agree with 1st baseman's mitt

I caught in the day they didn't have softball catcher's mitts. I used a 1st baseman's glove. Never had thumb issues(just bruises on the bottom of index finger), but that was easy to pad. I have TRIED to use some of my catcher's mitts and everyone I tried puts a lot of stress on the thumb. I would say try a 1st baseman's mitt. There are companies that also make thumb supports/braces. You can google thumb braces and find many brands.