Sorry I missed this thread. I haven't posted here in a while and haven't been as diligent reading this forum lately.
My daughter had/has the same issue.
The issue has NOTHING to do with pitching or pitching style. Although certain styles and pitches can affect the problem.
That being said here's what happened to us. My daughter after pitching a few years all of the sudden had significant back pain in her lower back to the point of not being able to pitch (at all). She was only 12 years old at the time. I thought it was ridiculous to be honest with you. Especially when it went on for a couple of weeks. I thought she was young and she'd just bounce back after little rest, probably pulled something, etc. Not true. She didn't bounce back. We went to the doctor. The doctor found nothing wrong and said it was muscular. We were referred to a chiropractor or a physical therapist - our choice. We tried to make an appt. through the clinic we go to but the schedule never lined up. A friend at work had us try his chiropractor but that was weird and my daughter didn't like it. Finally my wife's employer suggested her physical trainer who lo and behold is also a pediatric physical therapist and loves working with kids. We went to her.
What we were told after the first session is that my daughter had "no core" and was using her back to compensate. That was causing the issue. You couldn't even see that was happening as a pitching coach unless you knew what to look for. My daughter goes to a pitching coach with an exemplary safety record and she still goes to her this day. I trust her implicitly. Anyway, she had no core. Having no core had caused her over the years to walk incorrectly and thus her arches and her feet were messed up as well. She started physical therapy working on her core, learning how to breathe, and learning how to hold her core. That's the key. She had to reprogram herself to use the right muscles (her core instead of her back). Muscles you can't see. Her legs, arms, etc in her pitching mechanics were always fine. It was the hidden muscles that were at the core of the issue. During the first 6 weeks while she did not pitch we also went to a foot specialist and that doctor constructed special inserts for her shoes. Which she still wears now 18 months later. My daughter after starting physical therapy was pitching again in about 6 weeks. This started in early December and she had her best season ever that Summer season. She's now pitching as an 8th grader on the High School development team.
Now spin today and she still does physical therapy and still wears her inserts and goes to the same pitching coach but she pitches without any pain at all. Physical Therapist has now told me that she likely won't need the foot inserts soon.
One interesting conversation I had with the physical therapist she asked me if my DD crawled when she was a baby. Apparently babies that crawl learn to hold their core properly. Babies that don't often grow up with these issues.
If your daughter has a back problem while pitching my advice is to go see a physical therapist and find out if her core strength is lacking/and or she is using her back to compensate. Don't assume that it's the pitching coach or the pitching that's causing it right away, cause it's probably not.
I hope this helps someone out. And good luck to the thread creator. Finding out at 17 doesn't sound fun, I'm actually glad we found out when she was young.
My daughter had/has the same issue.
The issue has NOTHING to do with pitching or pitching style. Although certain styles and pitches can affect the problem.
That being said here's what happened to us. My daughter after pitching a few years all of the sudden had significant back pain in her lower back to the point of not being able to pitch (at all). She was only 12 years old at the time. I thought it was ridiculous to be honest with you. Especially when it went on for a couple of weeks. I thought she was young and she'd just bounce back after little rest, probably pulled something, etc. Not true. She didn't bounce back. We went to the doctor. The doctor found nothing wrong and said it was muscular. We were referred to a chiropractor or a physical therapist - our choice. We tried to make an appt. through the clinic we go to but the schedule never lined up. A friend at work had us try his chiropractor but that was weird and my daughter didn't like it. Finally my wife's employer suggested her physical trainer who lo and behold is also a pediatric physical therapist and loves working with kids. We went to her.
What we were told after the first session is that my daughter had "no core" and was using her back to compensate. That was causing the issue. You couldn't even see that was happening as a pitching coach unless you knew what to look for. My daughter goes to a pitching coach with an exemplary safety record and she still goes to her this day. I trust her implicitly. Anyway, she had no core. Having no core had caused her over the years to walk incorrectly and thus her arches and her feet were messed up as well. She started physical therapy working on her core, learning how to breathe, and learning how to hold her core. That's the key. She had to reprogram herself to use the right muscles (her core instead of her back). Muscles you can't see. Her legs, arms, etc in her pitching mechanics were always fine. It was the hidden muscles that were at the core of the issue. During the first 6 weeks while she did not pitch we also went to a foot specialist and that doctor constructed special inserts for her shoes. Which she still wears now 18 months later. My daughter after starting physical therapy was pitching again in about 6 weeks. This started in early December and she had her best season ever that Summer season. She's now pitching as an 8th grader on the High School development team.
Now spin today and she still does physical therapy and still wears her inserts and goes to the same pitching coach but she pitches without any pain at all. Physical Therapist has now told me that she likely won't need the foot inserts soon.
One interesting conversation I had with the physical therapist she asked me if my DD crawled when she was a baby. Apparently babies that crawl learn to hold their core properly. Babies that don't often grow up with these issues.
If your daughter has a back problem while pitching my advice is to go see a physical therapist and find out if her core strength is lacking/and or she is using her back to compensate. Don't assume that it's the pitching coach or the pitching that's causing it right away, cause it's probably not.
I hope this helps someone out. And good luck to the thread creator. Finding out at 17 doesn't sound fun, I'm actually glad we found out when she was young.