16 year old pitcher -- back injury -- need advice!

halskinner · Jan 9, 2013

acers16green said:
What I've been taught and believe in is front side resistance is key to throwing hard. Push out hard, stop abruptly as the arm whips through.

At landing foot touchdown, you want to be on a slight backwards lean and have a slight bend in the knee. The stride leg, knee and ankle are the brakes and the shock absorbers for the hunan body. The back is not designed to stop you or absorb that kind of force.

Dusty · Jan 9, 2013

a16g,

I just got here and only scanned this thread but I had a dd with back soreness (I know, big diff. between sore and injured) about a year or so ago that I asked the good folks here on DFP about and got a lot of well intentioned but off-base suggestions about her pitching mechanics as the source of her problems.

I'm certainly not saying you should ignore it completely but I'd suggest setting the mechanical stuff aside until you get advice you trust from medical professionals and sports trainers who deal with this kind of thing daily. Very often pitching mechanics can aggravate back problems but are not necessarily the root cause of them. I took my dd to the doc but ended up using a good sports chiropractor that we were referred to and she's done fine ever since. I hope everything turns out fine for your dd.

splinterpicker · Jan 9, 2013

My dd also usese front side resistance, but only up to the point of release. After the release she does not fight the momentum forward. She releases the ball at roughly the same hip angle as you have been taught. The difference is after release of the ball she finishes in a defensive position to defend herself. Im not saying any one way is better, there is just a tremendous amount of force that needs to be dealt with after the release of the ball.

Ken B · Jan 9, 2013

Im not saying any one way is better, there is just a tremendous amount of force that needs to be dealt with after the release of the ball.

I advocate for putting that energy into the ball.

acers16green · Jan 9, 2013

Update!

Daughter had her P/T session today ( Sports MD tomorrow ) and P/T is now theorizing it's a problem with the Facet Joint: ( Facet Joint Disorders and Back Pain )

If it's Facet, then he has a chiro he wants her to see.

-OR- a "spondy" --> Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis

Scan tomorrow.

Based on the fact she doesn't experience the pain on walk throughs, but does on a resistant pitch, I'm going to put my money on a Facet issue.

It's getting technical in here....

drc9805 · Jan 9, 2013

acers16green said:
Hi guys,

From time to time I've posted some stuff regarding my daughter and I've always received great advice. I know many of you have daughters or coach girls that have had back injuries.

Back 6 weeks ago she had a pop in her back during warmup for the first game of an exposure tournament. She'd never been injured in her life and this pain showed up as lower back pain that was sharp when she landed on her front side. It's the base of the spine. When it happened it was painful to even run or swing a bat.

So we returned from the tournament and went to a P/T and she has been rehabbing 2X per week. The do not believe there's a fracture and she has slowly gotten to the point of pitching full speed. So this weekend we played in Zona and she was ready to go...she pulled herself out in the first inning due to pain. She was able to play the rest of the tournament at 1B without pain and run/swing, etc, but she is still getting some pain landing on the stride foot.

She is 16, 5'11" and about 170. Not chubby, very much well toned and in shape.

The P/T's answer seems to be to strengthen core to protect against the shock of the front side resistance but I'm beginning to think she's either got a fracture or needs an adjustment of some sort by maybe a chiropractor.

We go back to the P/T on Wed. What's your advice for me. Obviously good front side resistance is key to good velocity. We've tried opening up her plant foot just a tad to see if it helps but she's still getting some pain.

The day before the tournament, she pitched 35 minutes on dirt with no pain...first inning, she pulls herself out.

Thanks for your advice. School ball starts in 2 months. She's a sophomore and being recruited and we've got a couple camps coming up...I'm getting very concerned.

I believe a lot of pitchers develop soreness in their left low back from landing on their stride foot so much but mine developed soreness in her right low back. I believe it could be caused from dragging her pivot foot on the side of the foot and/or trying to muscle the ball with her shoulder. She has been adjusted and that lasts for several weeks then she starts getting the pain back and you can tell it immediately.

I do know one girl who had the same issues as mine but it got to the point where she couldn't pitch. When she finally had X-rays taken...she had severe Scoleosis in her lower spine which had her hips terribly out of line. PT was the first option and maybe a brace then surgery!

halskinner · Jan 9, 2013

drc9805 said:
I believe a lot of pitchers develop soreness in their left low back from landing on their stride foot so much but mine developed soreness in her right low back. I believe it could be caused from dragging her pivot foot on the side of the foot and/or trying to muscle the ball with her shoulder. She has been adjusted and that lasts for several weeks then she starts getting the pain back and you can tell it immediately.

I do know one girl who had the same issues as mine but it got to the point where she couldn't pitch. When she finally had X-rays taken...she had severe Scoleosis in her lower spine which had her hips terribly out of line. PT was the first option and maybe a brace then surgery!

Got this article from Yahoo health.

"Scoliosis is an unnatural curvature of the spine. The normal shape of the spine includes a top-of-the-shoulder curve and a lower back curve. If your spine is curved from side to side or in an “S” or “C” shape, you probably have scoliosis.

According to the Scoliosis Research Society, more than 80 percent of scoliosis cases have no identifiable cause (SRS). The condition is often diagnosed during the first seven years of a child’s life. Common causes (when they can be pinpointed) are birth defects, neurological abnormalities, and genetic conditions."

I knew a young player when she was 16, very tall and very slender. She was diagnosed with Scoliosis a year prior/ She was pitching then and was taught that 'Forward dip; I have talked of before. I asked her Dad if the Dr's had ever checked for a spinal stress fracture and he said no. She had to quit pitching because of the pain.

She apperently had Scoliosi for some years but the po itching made it worse. I sometimes wonder if an extreme muscle imbalance between left and right sides if the spine could be misdiagnosed as Scoliosis. Muscle imbalances can play havoc on the spine and neck.

HMMMMMM...

Vincent553 · Jan 9, 2013

We started with an MD and then was referred to a P/T

Ken B · Jan 9, 2013

Vincent553 said:
We started with an MD and then was referred to a P/T

Hey Vince!
Long time no see!

5,4,3,2,...

Bye!!!

Ken B · Jan 10, 2013

halskinner said:
That was a pitcher who was near the end of her senior year. They did some scans and found a spinal stress fracture in her lumbar spine.

Print this out aand give a copy to your MD. X-rays wii
ll not show a spinal stress fracture.

Good luck and I hope it turns out to be a simple fix.

Hal

Good call!

16 year old pitcher -- back injury -- need advice!

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