Post ACL Surgery Pitching Drills

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Jul 2, 2013
381
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DD tore her ACL in her plant leg playing basketball this winter. She is 3 weeks post injury and 2 weeks post surgery. She just completed her first week of physical therapy and should be off crutches next week. She is allowed to walk without them around the house now and is slowly getting strength back in her leg.

She is starting to get antsy and wanting to do as much as she can in terms of softball so I wanted to reach out to the group here and see what drills or exercises you all would recommend while she was recovering in terms of pitching? I know spins are something she can still do and she will be working with arm bands as much as possible but are there other things we should be looking into over the next few weeks?
 

inumpire

Observer, but has an opinion
Oct 31, 2014
277
43
Let her recover from the surgery.......she will have time to get back to pitching. No matter what she does now, if the ACL doesn’t heals, she wont be pitching for a long time......
 
Jul 2, 2013
381
43
Thanks guys. I should have been more specific. She is dedicated to letting the ACL heal. I am looking for upper body specific workouts to keep her from getting bored and trying to push her recovery too quickly.
 
Jan 8, 2019
664
93
Work with her PT so that you don't accidentally pick an exercise or drill that you think is benign, but ends up creating potential for harm. Make sure the PT understands that your DD plays SB, and pitches, and show him/her what the mechanics of the sport are (they should have a good idea already, but you never know). They can pick some exercises and methods for isolating the knee from any harm.
 
Apr 28, 2014
2,316
113
Best of luck with your DDs recovery. I agree with most that allowing her to heal both physically and mentally is the way to go.
I do think working on spins should be done. Spins are so often overlooked by pitchers. DD has much work to do on her spins. Some pitchers get to a point where they love speed and have decent spin so they put improving spins on the back burner.
Get a spin tool, a double ball (Hillhouse recommended) and have her work on all of her spins.
Time will past soon enough and I'm sure you won't but don't let her do anything before she is completely released by her doctor.
Our kids are all super overachievers and we sometimes have a tendency to think we can rush recovery from injury because they feel great. Let the body heal.. ACL is a 12 month recovery. If she needs any inspiration tell her to research Rachel Garcia's journey from tearing her ACL in her senior season at HS to winning the college player of the year last season.
 
May 15, 2008
1,913
113
Cape Cod Mass.
Unfortunately the planting action of the leg is what leads to ACL injuries, in all sports. Rachel Garcia's left knee gave out in the 12th inning of a championship game, on a pitch no less.
 
Jul 2, 2013
381
43
Work with her PT so that you don't accidentally pick an exercise or drill that you think is benign, but ends up creating potential for harm. Make sure the PT understands that your DD plays SB, and pitches, and show him/her what the mechanics of the sport are (they should have a good idea already, but you never know). They can pick some exercises and methods for isolating the knee from any harm.

We are pretty lucky when it comes to the staff she's working with. I work for a healthcare system so I was able to mostly pick who she has. Her surgeon and PT have both known from the start that softball is her sport and that's what she is working to get back to. She's also worked with a sports trainer at the facility before who played college softball and she came by during her last PT session.
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
My DD has a broken foot, and is in a cast. That makes her a bit more mobile than your DD.

We have her working on spins, and some of the Java drills that only use the upper body. You can find those "lock it in" and "show it and throw it" drills on this forum.

We also ask that she do some resistance band work on arms and shoulders and core work. She's 10, doesn't do much of that. ;)
 
Jul 2, 2013
381
43
Best of luck with your DDs recovery. I agree with most that allowing her to heal both physically and mentally is the way to go.
I do think working on spins should be done. Spins are so often overlooked by pitchers. DD has much work to do on her spins. Some pitchers get to a point where they love speed and have decent spin so they put improving spins on the back burner.
Get a spin tool, a double ball (Hillhouse recommended) and have her work on all of her spins.
Time will past soon enough and I'm sure you won't but don't let her do anything before she is completely released by her doctor.
Our kids are all super overachievers and we sometimes have a tendency to think we can rush recovery from injury because they feel great. Let the body heal.. ACL is a 12 month recovery. If she needs any inspiration tell her to research Rachel Garcia's journey from tearing her ACL in her senior season at HS to winning the college player of the year last season.

Her surgeon has told her to expect six months for a return to softball. He said he might not be able to release her to pitch that soon, but she should be full speed in the infield by then. He told her that almost every female athlete he sees with ACL injuries came from basketball. He also said it would be at least 12 months before he would release her to play basketball. She assured him her basketball career is over.

She found the Rachel Garcia info online along with a YouTuber she follows that is going through ACL recovery now. Unfortunately she also saw the story of the outfielder from Arizona that played her senior season on a torn ACL. Luckily she knew that was a bad idea. Everyone in the medical field she mentioned that to told her that will lead to a very early knee replacement surgery.
 

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