Thursday, March 5, 2009

Arm Care is Career Care


For a baseball or softball pithcer, their arm is often their career. Any quality sports training program bakersfield should consist of an arm care program. If an athlete does not know how to take care of their arm, then their career won't stand a chance.

But what does arm care really consist of? Arm care consists of many things. Not the least is proper preventative care and proper recovery.

Many baseball and softball players go wrong with arm care. They often abuse their arms without ever knowing it. But I have a very knowledgeable person who is very excited to help you with any problem you might have. Click here to visit their website.

So lets talk proper warm-up. Personally, I am sold on Jeager Bands. These things are awesome and can be taken anywhere. No matter what position you play, you gotta have these bands. Pitchers throw every couple of days. Position players throw every day. So don't think they are only for pitchers. They will strengthen your arm to create a cannon and keep you fresh and able to play day after day. The entire Jeager Sports program (long toss, arm circles, bands) is terrific. Their program is highly recommended.

The second thing is knowing when you've thrown enough. And that can be a bit more tricky. Follow this link to get some guidelines on throwing volume. Odds are most coaches are throwing their kids way to much and not giving them enough rest. Coaches, if you don't know how many pitches your athletes are throwing, you are doing them a disservice. Don't be that coach.

The last but possibly most important is proper recovery. Recovery is what we do to our body to help get fresh blood, oxygen and nutrients to the area that follows the stress of pitching at a very high velocity. We should take this very important. The first thing to do is ice it. Almost as soon as you come off the mound. The second thing is to exercise it the day after. Perform very low resistance exercises such as arm circles, fly's, and arm pendulum exercises to help loosen up the tight muscles of the shoulder.

These three things will take some extra effort, but rest assured, they will keep you throwing for years to come. Being consistent is the key. If you want to throw consistently, you need to
  1. Prehab your shoulder for what you are about to ask of it.
  2. Count your pitches. Have a coach keep your pitch count so you can track performance
  3. Take care of yourself after the game. Ice, compression, and elevation. The next day, start your exercises.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at aaron@pairmarotta.com




Sports training Bakersfield, Baseball training, Pair Marotta Physical Therapy