Young Pitcher Arm Care

Longtime lurker here. What practices, strategies, thoughts does everyone have on how to care for a young (8-10 yrs. old) pitcher's arm/shoulder etc.? I've looked around and there's nothing definitive on the subject. For the most part, it seems if it doesn't hurt leave it alone. Should we be icing after practices and games? Thanks for your thoughts.

I think the most important care for the pitcher's body is proper warm-ups before pitching full speed (e.g. dynamic stretching, light overhand toss, light underhand toss, arm whip drills, slowly progressing to full walk thrus).

I have done a lot of research on the issue of icing and have come to the conclusion that it's a waste of time and could even be counterproductive unless its an INJURY to reduce swelling. Normal pitching should not result in injuries and swelling. My DD has pitched since she was 7YO and have never iced her except 1 time when her idiot travel ball coach had her pitch 3 back to back games (including 9 inning ITB), even though she was showing signs of elbow pain and had equally good pitcher sitting on the bench all day as punishment for missing pre-game warm-ups the first game of the day. I estimated DD pitched over 400 pitches that day which is way too much for any pitcher.

I agree with Rocket. Proper training before, proper warmup, and a reasonable limit on pitches per day makes ice etc a null point. Taking a day or two off after an above average number of pitches in a weekend (300+) usually works out well. DD has had a few isolated instances of soreness after coach got crazy and pitched her too much across a a weekend but 2 days and she was back to full speed. Since then we have invested in Jbands and work them for about 10 mins 2-3x week and its been remarkable from a stamina and recovery standpoint. Can’t overstate how impressed I am with what that has done for DD.

From my understanding, using IR pitching mechanics is a lot better for the arm than HE, so if she's learning the right way to pitch, that will help keep her healthy.

4 full consecutive weeks off each winter. 2 weeks off in spring/summer..

I know the newest studies don't support routinely icing after throwing, but we have tried both ways with DD and she clearly recovers faster and more completely if she ices after throwing.

She might be throwing too much.

How many times a week would you do the J=band routine?

The number 1 way to take care of her arm is to use correct mechanics of IR and brush.

I wanted to add my agreement to what most of the posters above have said. Get warm first, especially on cold mornings. Use good I/R mechanics with no forced follow through. Try to increase length and intensity of workouts closer to season to build stamina. Only ice if you have an actual injury. You are slowing blood flow to tissue that is repairing and healing.