Arm Injuries for Pitchers

     We seem to live in a time when more injuries are happening for pitchers at all levels, but coaches are part of the problem, not the solution. Coaches need to have plans in place to make sure pitchers aren't being overused but also the metrics that we measure might need to change. Many throwing programs are built from distance thrown, which isn't bad but isn't the best way to measure the stress you are putting on the arm. The best way to measure this stress is to use a radar gun and see how hard you are throwing every throw. People only use radar guns a lot to measure how hard they can throw but it is good to use on recovery days when you want to not get above a certain stress level on the arm. The other thing that needs to be measured which can be using Driveline Pulse is how many throws you make. If you can't afford this type of technology, then simply using something to count throws and intensity on your throws will be fine. Most athletes don't realize how much stress they are putting on their arms even on a light throwing day because they don't realize the number of throws they made or the intensity of the throws. 

    Before you even throw to see how you are prepared for the day, you should have a tool that can measure your fatigue levels. The big ones that I've seen are tools that measure grip strength from a baseline measurement and then do it on a daily basis. Your fatigue levels should show you the intensity that you should throw at on that day and it is not very expensive to monitor especially after you get a baseline number to track. Fatigue can be caused by many things including poor sleep, nutrition and hydration issues, and just a lack of daily movement. Having a routine is so important and is key to having the right amount of fatigue on certain days and less fatigue on the higher intensity days. The routine which hopefully consists of lifting and speed work will have to be constructed around your throwing schedule because you don't want to be lifting heavy on a recovery day. Most of the time you want to do your heavier lifting on the higher-intensity days because you can use the other days as more of an active recovery and maybe some light lifting or mobility work.

    The game needs to adapt and even though there probably will always be some sort of injury risk from throwing a baseball I think we can find ways to lower the odds. This needs to be a complete approach all the way from youth baseball to professional baseball and it takes a lot of different aspects to stay healthy. Pitchers at any level should not feel like they are being forced to throw through pain and should communicate this with their coaches if it is happening. Soreness is a natural part of pitching but always being in pain isn't and it's not fun because it will hurt your performance on the field. Building kids up to a higher strength level and not overusing them I think is the future of preventing some of the injuries we have in today's game. The change needs to be started by coaches at all levels of play.