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

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Jan 20, 2012
34
0
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.
 
Dec 7, 2011
2,368
38
Maybe a stab in the dark here but have ya tried New/Different shoes?
It’s pretty amazing how things can be interrelated like that.

This would be part of the trial AFTER she has rehabbed to the point of no pain.

Has she learned any new pitches recently?
 
Jun 14, 2011
528
0
Field of Dreams
My two cents- her rehab plan would be helped with a diagnosis. I think a trip to the MD is in order +/- imaging studies to exclude a fx or some other significant soft tissue injury. alternate choice- continue to wait til she is pain-free; along with rehab and core strength.
 
Jan 20, 2012
34
0
We have not tried new shoes...hmmmm. She uses the light ringor metal cleats. She did change to those shoes from mizunos about 6 months ago. She's got the same pitches, no change there but curve seems to be the one she's most concerned about but I think that's mental due to the pitch she threw in warmups that caused this whole thing ;) For the guys on the forum, I realize I should put "curve" in quotes, LOL. She doesn't step across her power line so there's no different plant action for the curve versus rise/drop/fb, etc.
 
Dec 5, 2012
4,143
63
Mid West
ABSOLUTELY!!!! Go to a MD
Get x rays and mri's
I hurt my neck in a pool last year, had a 13 yr old kid try to jump over me, but she slipped on the take off and her butt landed on my head, driving my chin into my chest. A loud crunch and pop and excruciating pain, I just stood there holding onto the edge... I thought I was headed to to er with a broken neck. Pain started to go away and I decided I was going to be fine. After two months of chronic pain I went to the doc ... turns out I had a fractured vertebrae and slipped discs. Doc says if a piece of the fracture had came loose, it could have cut into the spinal cord and paralyzed me.... go to the doc asap! Better safe than sorry!
 

halskinner

Banned
May 7, 2008
2,681
0
Describe her pitching motion. Does she bend way down in front before starting her forward push? Does she stand pretty much straight up dduring the entire motion? Has she recently had a major change to her mechanics?

It could be many things.
 
Jul 26, 2010
3,567
0
Get her to a sports medicine specialist for a diagnosis. I'm not sure where you live, but the closer you are to a university medical center the better. It may be worth reaching out to the staff of your local university to see where their players are treated, if you cannot find recommendations on your own.

MD's are nearly useless when it comes to sports injuries.

-W
 
Jan 20, 2012
34
0
Pitching Style

She goes to Mark Anderton in Auburn, WA for her pitching coach.

Here's a video of her pitching: ( back in Sept ). She has since fixed her pivoted push off, but drives out fairly upright.

#20 Madison Rogers 2015 P/1B Washington Acers West Coast Gold Pitching Skills Video - YouTube



Describe her pitching motion. Does she bend way down in front before starting her forward push? Does she stand pretty much straight up dduring the entire motion? Has she recently had a major change to her mechanics?

It could be many things.
 

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