Preventing arm injuries

With NC being bombarded by unseasonably cold weather as the HS season begins, what precautions are players and coaches taking to avoid arm injuries ?

 

Run, Run, Run

I've been concerned about the same thing!

What the pitchers are telling me is, they run up a sweat before they start warming up the arm, then they run 30 minutes after they pitch in the game to get the lactic acid out of the arm.

They also tell me they keep breaking balls to a minimum in colder weather, since those put the most strain on their arms. Fastballs and offspeed pitchs are the fair of the day on colder outings.

Also they keep a pitch count, between 70-90 pitches seems to be where they like to be relieved.

It all seems to be good advice on these colder days, but it is simple common sense as well.

 

Good advice ! The thing that really concerns me is when it is cold and wet. The extra weight (moisture) of the ball would seem to add to the risk. I read somewhere (NCBBallfan?) that pitch counts should not exceed the temperature. Also had a coach tell me that pitchers should pitch in long sleeves whenever the temp is below 92.

 

Tough question....

In my limited understanding of the topic:
1). Most arm injuries are the result of cumulative minor re-injury that creates a weakness at some point. You may not have even noticed the re-injury.
2). The conditions that lead up to a major injury aren't the cold ... it's the lack of conditioning and work to get the arm in shape to pitch during the cold of winter.
3). You see as many arm injuries from lack of conditioning as from overuse.
4). Overuse, without proper conditioning, can be devastating to the arm.

Building up an arm to pitch is a multi-year process. When a team is "out of pitching" and they promote (or demote, depending on your attitude) a player to the mound is when you could have trouble. Your strong armed SS is throwing strikes, so you are tempted to teach him a change, then a curve ...

It takes awhile to build up your arm to handle these multiple pitches. If you are one of those "promoted" players, limit it to a FB/change the first year. Most people will argue that those two pitches are enough to get you through HS anyway.

There are a lot of variables to take into consideration ... very difficult question.

 

HaHa, if pitch counts should not exceed the temperature then pitchers in the mountains wouldn't throw over 40 pitches til mid April. It's coooooooold up here til then.

 

NC great points. This is an interesting paradigm shift. It used to be that "fresh" pitching arms were very desirable. Now, from what I'm reading, converted position players are actually more susceptible to arm injury due to lack of long-term, multi-year conditioning. Pitching off a mound is what, 3X the amount of stress vs flat ground throwing ?

 

Mudcat ... for a first couple of outings it's not a bad idea.... particularly in the scrimmages.

I hope Kicker9 jumps into this one. He can really add to the quality of the discussion.

Another item to reflect on.

Back in the old days, we were a rural society. Most people were raised on farms and they weren't mechanized. Kids grew up with hard work and became naturally strong. Guys like Bob Feller worked harder before they reached maturity than any of they players of today.

The great Satchmo grew up poor. He also threw about every day when he was traveling with the great Negro traveling teams. All of this work accomplished something else. It increased the bone density.

Now, that work has to be replaced in the weight room. Pitchers need to lift weights as a form of "arm insurance". It's almost mandatory. One of the best examples of a player still in HS who's done his work in the weight room is Adam Warren. It's obvious when you meet him that he's worked his butt off.

Compare players like those with the average high schooler who takes the winter off, watching TV, playing video games, etc and then shows up on the baseball field in spring without the offseason conditioning to strengthen the muscles and the bone density. It's an accident waiting to happen.

The old adage is true. Pitchers are made in the off-season.

 

NC-The Japanese pitchers are another good example of the value of conditioning. They throw alot more than Americans with fewer arm problems.
High school pitchers routinely pitch 9 inning complete games in HS, but the mounds are almost flat.

 

I read that article too, but can't remember where (d'oh -- I'm getting old).

They also talked about doing MRI's on the pitchers after each game they pitched in the one of the championships. They also pitch every day.

If you can find the link, please post it. It was a great read for everyone.

 

http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/6616002781/m/912106719/p/1, general, pitching questions




I fixed the URL to go straight too the right thread. It's in a post by Bob Williams (Consultant) on page 2. Pops.