Shoulder Injuries? What are we NOT doing that is allowing that??

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Mar 2, 2009
311
16
Suffolk, VA
Has anyone noticed an excess number of shoulder injuries and shoulder surgeries?

I was in OKC to watch the WCWS (4th year attending) and talked with another coach from Mississippi that told me he sees the same thing. An awful lot of players with shoulder injuries.

If so, what do you attribute to this? 50+ weeks a year work and overuse??
Improper stretching along with improper throwing mechanics?

One thing is for sure, this needs to be addressed at a national level and coaches need to be educated to ensure our young female athletes are not damaging their shoulders and requiring surgery as an expected part of playing softball!


I did like the note ref Jaeger's Long Toss, Arm Circles and J Bands warmups before throwing. any thoughts here?

Jim
 
Jun 22, 2008
3,731
113
My daughter is about 6 months post shoulder reconstruction for a posterior labrum tear, partial tear of the rotator cuff and a cyst in the joint. And no, she is not a pitcher. Her surgeon said they are seeing more and more of it and attribute it to sport specific athletes that play non stop all year in the same sport. He said in the days of 4 sport athletes, they used one set of muscles for a few months, then switched sports and used a different set etc. But, playing softball 12 months non stop, they never give the shoulder joint and muscles time to heal if damaged.

Another thing he explained is that concentrating on building arm strength for throwing power is more than just building the arm and pectoral muscles. Incredible amounts of stress are put on the shoulder during a throw, and there has to be a braking system to stop the arm after the throw and that is the deltoid. He said he would like to see 2-3 times as much time spent on developing the deltoids as the actual throwing. Do a web search for the throwers 10 program, it is one he recommended for anyone that is in a throwing sport.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,133
113
Dallas, Texas
It is not lack of stretching or bad throwing mechanics. The kids are being played and practiced to death.

There is something called "repetitive stress syndrome"--basically, you do one task over and over and over again, and you'll get hurt. It doesn't matter what you do or how you do it, you will get injured. (Carpal tunnel syndrome is a great example..)

Unlike baseball, softball players athletes are taught to do everything at maximum exertion. You make a young lady do thousands of reps at maximum exertion, and she'll get hurt.
 
Jan 6, 2009
165
0
Texas
It is not lack of stretching or bad throwing mechanics. The kids are being played and practiced to death.

There is something called "repetitive stress syndrome"--basically, you do one task over and over and over again, and you'll get hurt. It doesn't matter what you do or how you do it, you will get injured. (Carpal tunnel syndrome is a great example..)

Unlike baseball, softball players athletes are taught to do everything at maximum exertion. You make a young lady do thousands of reps at maximum exertion, and she'll get hurt.

So if you walk too much, you will get repetitive stress syndrome. If you swim too much, you will .... I hurt my shoulder - because I lifted too much weight too high, heavy equipment into the back of a truck. My oldest dd hurt her shoulder beating someone with a rifle butt - because she wanted to kill them (USMC). My middle dd hurt her shoulder because she played 5 hours of volleyball, stressing her shoulder, then played
4 softball games, then someone called when she got home and she went and played basketball for two hours with a group of guys. All 3 case, not proper warm up, using muscles that werent in shape for what they were used for.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,133
113
Dallas, Texas
As to the two activities you mention, too much walking can lead to shin splints. (People who spend 8 to 10 hours a day walking are very, very particular about their shoes--ask a nurse.) Too much swimming leads to swimmers shoulder (swimmers shoulder is also prevalent in softball and baseball). Carpal tunnel syndrome comes from too much typing.

Tiger Woods certainly is one of the best athletes in the world. He has the best trainers and doctors in the world. Surely, somewhere along the line, someone would have told him to stretch before playing golf. Yet, over the course of his career, he has had several injuries. He had knee surgery last year.
 

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