Playing multiple baseball games per week, along with the overhead repetitive motions, causes stress to the musculoskeletal system and exposes players to overuse injuries.
Today more than 30 million teens participate in sports. A whopping 288,000* are injured each year playing baseball alone. Young athletes usually focus on one or two sports, playing year round on club teams. In our office alone we have 2 team members that played one sport all the way through college.
Without taking any time off or changing up the sports during the year, baseball players can experience arm soreness. They are likely to develop injuries due to the overuse of muscles. If not properly managed, the overused body can falter and cause injury.
Baseball Injuries
Baseball players most often injure their shoulders or elbows. Shoulder-related injuries range from tendonitis of the muscles that keep the rotator cuff stable to cartilage tears within the joint itself. Elbow problems include tendonitis of the muscles on top of or below the forearm and strains of the ligaments on the inside of the elbow.
Overuse Baseball Injuries
Overuse injuries can include tendonitis, inflammation of muscles, fractures, sprains, strains, cartilage tears, and more. These baseball injuries can prevent players from performing their best and make playing impossible in some cases. Baseball and softball players should condition with exercises to prevent injury and maximize performance.
Baseball conditioning exercises target several causes of baseball and softball-related injuries, including decreased rotator cuff or scapular strength, poor flexibility/ROM, and insufficient warm-up.
Causes of Baseball Injuries
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· Overtraining · Not enough rest periods · Poor throwing mechanics · Poor specific pitch technique · Poor flexibility and range of motion · Decreased rotator cuff or shoulder strength |
· Decreased wrist muscle strength and flexibility · Decreased hamstring flexibility and strength · Poor hip flexibility · Poor core strength and stability · Decreased hip muscle strength |
Baseball Injury Prevention
To prevent injuries, baseball players should:
Services We Offer
The specialized team of Sports Medicine experts from Perimeter Orthopaedics can evaluate and, if necessary, treat an injury to prevent more serious problems.
Contact Us
To schedule an appointment with a physician or Sports Medicine professional call us at 404-255-5595 or visit our website at perimeterortho.com.
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