bruised thigh

[Dennis R]

My daughter just finished up her summer season. No problem physically until the last weekend.
Second to last weekend she developed a small bruise on her thigh. This past weekend she pitched first game and had to stop because bruise expanded to the point where it hurt when she threw. I was wondering if throwing her rise ball would be what caused the problem? This is the first year she started really throwing it alot. Her coach called it a lot during games. Mechanically she seemed fine during the season, didn't notice anything with her delivery that might have caused this. I've also noticed that the rotation on her fastball has changed as the season progressed. Instead of downward movement, the rotation on the ball has changed and the rotation seems more like a curve/riser rotation.

 

[joemcq51]

My daughter just finished up her summer season. No problem physically until the last weekend.
Second to last weekend she developed a small bruise on her thigh. This past weekend she pitched first game and had to stop because bruise expanded to the point where it hurt when she threw. I was wondering if throwing her rise ball would be what caused the problem? This is the first year she started really throwing it alot. Her coach called it a lot during games. Mechanically she seemed fine during the season, didn't notice anything with her delivery that might have caused this. I've also noticed that the rotation on her fastball has changed as the season progressed. Instead of downward movement, the rotation on the ball has changed and the rotation seems more like a curve/riser rotation.

It sounds to me like it is a mechanical issue. If she is not opening her hips enough to clear them, she will absolutely hit her thigh on release. This is probably causing the issue with the fastball spin, as well. If you have an opportunity to film her, you can really slow the pitch down and see why she is doing this. One other issue could be an arching of the back. I have seen many pitchers who are trying to work on the rise ball, develop this. Rather than dropping the shoulder, they arch their back, causing the hip and thigh to get in the way of the release. Hope this helps a little bit.

 

[PA SB Dad]

Was the initial bruise the result of some trauma? Based on the history you give, it sounds like she may have had some re-bleeding in the area of her initial bruise and may have developed a hematoma. Does she have a tender bruised lump in the area now? Does it hurt her to walk, push off, or flex the muscle? I would have her ice the area and take some Motrin or Advil to help with the swelling and inflammation. Give her some time to let the injury recover. Any motion that causes her pain may result in continued damage to the muscle. If it is not getting better, have her pediatrician or a sports medicine doc take a look.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Which thigh is it?

 

[SoftSocDad]

PA SB Dad is right about at-home treatment, but yeah, the forum cannot really offer any viable insight without knowing the exact location of the bruise.

 

[Dennis R]

Her drive leg is the one that has the bruise

 

[StacieM]

How long has she been pitching? Has she ever gotten bruises there before? If not, something has changed in her delivery/mechanics. From they way you describe her fastball, I'm thinking this is the case. How has she been doing on the mound?

 

[Renntiger]

I had posted this video on an older thread here a while ago, but forgot to set it to "public", so no one saw it. Hopefully I did it properly this time:

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/12481408" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/12481408">Langenfeld pitching</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user516005">Gene</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

You can see how hard Langenfeld hit her hip during that pitch; her forearm didn't just brush up against her hip, but actually smacked right into it. If her timing had been a little off, she could have easily put a big bruise on her thigh with the ball.

Perhaps Dennis' daughter is doing something similar?

Incidentally, I think this sequence also illustrates the real value of having a face-guard and a chin-strap installed on the helmet, even though Coon got away with having neither in this instance.

Gene

 

[Sparky Guy]

Looking at the video it's no wonder she's having bruising issues. She is closing her hips way too soon. That's why her arm is contacting her thigh.

 

[abbygale]

Renn, I love your slo-mo pitching clips. Thanks