Passing on Hard Lessons learned

So We had a final bone scan on my younger DD last week and the pars bone fracture in her spine has not healed after a year of layoff because the fracture is to wide for the bone to heal. To this day pitching even at 75% she feels discomfort on about 40% of her pitches, we were told to try from time to time to gauge her recovery. So after the last scan we have come to the realization that indeed this is now a career ending injury as far as pitching goes. She now catches for her older sister but her heart is in the circle so her travel ball days are done. She most likely will still play High school with her sister but college ball is no longer on her radar. Her last real game was the triple crown world series pitching her team to a top ten finish, of coarse she had a team full of awesome players but she proved to herself she could deal with the best.

She is the sixth A level pitcher to suffer from this injury up here in Washington that I personally know and to date none of them have come back to pitch again. When I ask the coaches that have been in the sport for much longer than me they all say that this seems like a brand new phenomenon and they don't get why we are seeing so much in the last few years. My Theory is I remember years back when my girls were just getting started in the sport hearing about all the amazing teams in So Cal and that every time our area teams would travel south its just a giant curb stomping. The way they were talked about it was like they were mythical destroyers of every Team not from So Cal. I think because the sport of travel ball up here has advanced so much and we can now compete with them successfully and the top teams now have to travel south just to find competition. (older DD does not even play in state at all anymore)when the snow starts flying in order to compete with the best our teams move indoors and practice year round and that includes the pitchers. This forces our pitchers to practice on concrete, gym floors, garages and where ever they can find a place and matts help but they are no substitution for dirt. Its awesome for the sport that teams from the whole US now can compete at the highest level but in order to Do that Pitchers from cold areas should adapt there winter workouts to avoid The fate of the six pitchers and my DD up here.

So I just want to pass on this fall a winter adaption for pitchers who are forced to work indoors and to the other Bucket dads out there what I would have done differently considering what I have witnessed around here amongst the top pitchers in the area. In hopes that fewer kids get this injury.
1) If you EVER see your DD grabbing her lower left or lower right back muscle area and she tells you it is a sore muscle STOP pitching and get it checked out by someone who knows this injury. You will have to research to find the right guy.
2)when you do start pitching Avoid pitching on Gym floors ,concrete ,Hard surfaces,you have to find something thick and shock absorbing, maybe gel type shoe inserts. Matts help but are not the total solution, we always used a matt.
3) This to me is the most Important thing. If your DD is from puberty to the age of 15 and is growing like a weed she needs a minimum of 8 weeks no pitching! and by no pitching I mean nothing that creates Impact combined with a twisting motion. Go ahead Practice drills, spins, conditioning, K's ,hitting whatever but no driving off the rubber. When a pitcher lands with the front foot she transfers 7 times her body weight directly up her spine while she is twisting and during these few years the pars bone is fragile and landing On a hard surface not dirt makes matters much worse. I believe this Time off Impact will allow any micro fractures from the previous year to heal BEFORE they become a much bigger issue and healing is fast and easy. This injury is also common in ice skaters, gymnasts ,and volley ball players, what do they have in common with pitchers?.

So That in a nutshell is what I thought I needed to pass on, I know the kid is full of energy and confidence along with having great potential, Dreams every night of working hard all winter to come back as the teams new ace striking out the side inning after inning. But in the colder climates where we are not outdoors year round on dirt so we have to adapt our training to fit our conditions and I'm sick of seeing amazing talent derailed by this unnecessary injury. So I hope This may help someone avoid what I'm doing with my DD right now,Instead driving my younger DD to pitching /conditioning I'm driving her to guitar lessons.( I love to hear her play)

Thank you for this info. I'm sorry about your daughter not being able to pitch anymore.

Thanks for sharing. First off... Very sorry to hear about the injury. I'm in your boat in the northern part of the country. I do have exercise padding down on the ground where she pitches and we do take at least 4-5 weeks off from any activity at all. If you don't mind...just had a couple questions for you in the attempt to learn a little from what you're experiencing.

How old is your daughter?
How long had she been experiencing discomfort before you had the problem diagnosed?
Curious if this is a "once you feel pain, it's too late" type thing?

BP, it's terrible news and I'm truly sorry to hear about this. I hope that everything turns out alright for your DD. Hopefully, she can attain her dreams in an alternate field of endeavors.

Sad to hear it. I wonder if this is what happened with my older DD. The last year she pitched she had low back pain.

Bucket Piñata - sorry to hear about your DD's back injury. As I mentioned before, one of my DD's 13yo teammates has been out 3 months with a stress fracture to one of her vertabrae. The parents claim the injury on a previous head coach who was trying to show her how to throw a curve using wrong, twisting mechanics? She practices on dirt.

I know you said to take 8 straight weeks off at a time but I'm not so sure that this is necessarily the right answer for everyone. With my DD, to the extent possible, throughout the season, I try not to have her practice pitching two days in a row to allow her body to heal at least one day after every practice or outing. I actually prefer that she manages her pitching year round so that she doesn't have to take two months off, then has to work hard to get back in shape the rest of the year. The most she every takes off completely from pitching is two weeks, twice a year. Never had the need to ice. So far, so good. She does practice 2 or 3 times a month on a mat, over concrete but all other weekly pitching is done in the dirt.

I have always been concerned at how much I hear the DDs on this site are pitching. Too me it sounds like way too much. I have two DDs who pitch, easily, less than half of what I hear for most pitchers on this forum. However, they are very good pitchers. I suspect that they won't be pitching at the DI level, but they are healthy.

Hate to hear that about your dd. Thank you for sharing, maybe this will prevent another kid from this injury moving forward

Number one I hate it for your DD, sounds like she is a great kid with a big heart and I wish her the best!

Did the doctor say exactly how the injury happen, is it a repetitive motion type injury or maybe due to a flaw in her mechanics?

The suggestions you advised to avoid the injury are these from a doctor or where did they come from?

Thanks, just trying to fully understand the injury.

BP,

Sorry to hear about your DD's pitching career ending. She will adapt, but it's harder for us too.

On another note, my DD has been dealing with a hip tendon on her landing leg that has been giving her trouble all fall. According to the orthopedic surgeon, it's common for girls to injure this tendon and break off the bottom of the hip bone at the growth plate. Thanks goodness that didn't happen to my DD. We'll wait and see what the follow up visit tell us after the three weeks of rest.

Bottom line is take care of your player and their body. They aren't bullet proof like we think.