Alright, you have made it to the third part of this series. You can get caught up here…
An Evidence-Based Reason Behind Throwing Arm Injuries: Part 1
An Evidence-Based Reason Behind Throwing Arm Injuries: Part 2
I told you I would spoon-feed the details of why starters get hurt, but now I need to tell you something strange. I have a multidisciplinary Ph.D. in Biomechanics and Exercise Physiology.
People consider me more of a biomechanist because I have published more work in that arena, but here’s the catch…
In the previous two posts, I did not mention biomechanics as an evidence-based reason for why pitchers are hurt.
HUH? BIOMECHANICS IS NOT THE ROOT CAUSE OF INJURIES?
Fatigue management is where it’s at, and the cornerstone is strength changes, which in turn cause mechanical changes.
You may be attacking the process in reverse, looking at ball flight characteristics (change in movement, velocity, release point, etc.), and then movement changes.
Still, you will eventually come to the sources of the problem—throwing arm fatigue and joint restriction, which causes compensation to increase loading on the shoulder and elbow.
When that fatigue-induced change in mechanics is not tolerated well, the tissue starts to fray, and if fraying increases, it starts to tear, and when it tears more overtime and is improperly rehabilitated, well, you book your visit to Dr. Andrews.
Here’s something that you might find weird as well.
The insidious inverted W.
The inverted W is a mythological beast, a Medusa, if you will.
Take one look, and you will cringe. However, there’s a lot of information on this type of delivery. My favorite is an article put together by Lindsay Berra, one of the best MLB writers I have come across in baseball health and performance.
You can find many pitchers with frightening mechanics that do not get hurt.
Here’s some research that shows the inverted W is no riskier than any other delivery, and in my professional experience, I have never seen a pitcher with the inverted W appearance on the IL list.
Download the white paper, it’s free to read.
Don’t get me wrong and throw the baby out with the bathwater. Of course, biomechanics is important, but research has shown much more predictability in gaining velocity through identifying biomechanics leading to increased joint velocities than it has in predicting injury or reducing wear and tear on joints.
There is much more I can write on this, but the bottom line is that starters are not getting hurt because of bad mechanics.
Instead, they have impressive mechanics and command. They have been pitching since they were 8, and 99% of them had one surgery in 20 years after throwing an insane amount of pitches.
But you know my message…
I believe that almost all of them would be injury free if they would focus on the ArmCare mantra—Strength Matters Most.
OKAY – IT’S TIME FOR THE ARMCARE SOLUTION EXPLAINED
To attack the dangerous cycle of spreading out high-intensity training days over 2 days post outing.
Through the following points below, I am going to briefly explain a better approach to training starting pitchers that can minimize throwing arm injuries throughout the season:
- Megadose Training Post-Pitching
- 24-Hours Post-Pitching Recovery Training that is Mobility-Driven, Cardiovascular, and Light for the Throwing Arm
- Scheduled Bullpen 72 Hours Post-Pitching on Day 3
Megadosed training post-pitching is a critical approach.
That means that after pitching, post-game is the best time to get in a moderate intensity lift and a higher effort strength day for the throwing arm. The reason is that the body is warmed-up after pitching, and because of the competitive stress and higher adrenaline levels, the body is in a good state for a lift.
The key though is to be selective in your prescribed training exercises and keep the lift to under 25 minutes for traditional training.
Arm-specific training should be at a higher intensity with isometrics and eccentrics, yet at a lower volume, which is typically not done in present-day arm care programs.
It’s important to understand that high-intensity arm care training post-pitching aids in recovery. The lactic acid production, time under tension, and increased microdamage will signal a large growth hormone and testosterone response for repairing muscle damage for the throwing arm.
This is quite the opposite of what is currently happening in the game.
The arm care megadose comes one day after a megadose of pitching. Bumping the strenuous arm care to the 24-hour mark reduces recoverability.
If you cannot get to a gym immediately after pitching or after coming home from a game, at least focus on high-intensity arm strength work at the field in the bullpen using our crossover symmetry bands and dynamometer.
HERE’S THE KICKER
On Day 1 (the day after pitching,) you need to focus on recovery work involving the aerobic system to reset the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest system) to lower adrenaline and increase circulation to further aid in muscular regeneration.
By providing a dedicated recovery day, nervous system fatigue is lessened, which is especially necessary if you have a bullpen scheduled on Day 2. Otherwise, you are contributing to a greater risk of injury on the bullpen day.
A better bet is to schedule the bullpen on Day 3, which would give two days of recovery to reduce throwing arm soreness and inflammation.
Although you often see teams in Spring Training schedule bullpens every other day for the first 6 days. That is another story for a later date, but in my opinion, it’s a very risky approach that leads to amplifying injuries early in the season.
If you care for your athletes, you want to advance their velocity and minimize their risk of injury, become an expert and give me a chance to guide you in elevating your coaching approaches.
Our Certified ArmCare Specialist Course gives you a deep dive into training schedules, coordinate throwing programming, arm care, traditional strength and conditioning throughout the year, and so much more.
Data-led assessment and training approaches are what baseball is all about.
You know all the pitching analytics under the sun but are missing some major nuggets to be a step ahead.
It’s okay if you don’t have our dynamometer. You can take the course without owning any of our products to understand the throwing arm better and be prepared for when you see the opportunity to use our solution with your athletes.
Armcare.com is the leader in education on throwing arm strength analytics and navigating actionable, individualized training.
On the topic of individualization, maximizing training through the power of using objective strength and range of motion data to regulate nervous system fatigue, look no further than our podcast featuring Kaylee Shore.
Kaylee is Stephen F. Austin’s athletic trainer for the baseball team. She shares her monitoring approaches that will give you an inside look at how you can customize player development and sports science methods to suit your needs.
In closing, acknowledge nervous system fatigue and always, always, always individualize your training methods based on strength and range of motion assessments.
Integrate our platform to measure what matters and live by the acronym DATA (Don’t Assume Training Approaches).
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How This Athletic Trainer is Building High Performance Machines (More Than Velocity #42)
In this week’s podcast, the Arm Care Team talks with Athletic Trainer Kaylee Shores. She is highly active in managing the team’s data to enhance performance and reduce injuries and ArmCare is her essential tool.
