Rest Does Not Mean Stop: – Our rehab program focuses on strengthening the entire body to improve throwing mechanics to reduce injury and improve velocity and control.
Our Approach
When baseball players sustain an injury, it is important to properly manage the injury to prevent further damage and promote healing. However, rest does not mean stop or inactivity. It is essential to maintain a level of activity to prevent deconditioning and maintain overall physical fitness, which can aid in the rehabilitation process. In fact, athletes can lose strength quickly, within days to weeks when they stop training. The athlete certainly doesn’t benefit when a shoulder is rehabbed after 6-8 weeks, only to have pulled hamstring because of deconditioning.
Our rehab program treats the whole athlete, which means we focus on not just the injured area but also the rest of the body. Our priority is always to reduce pain and when appropriate begin gentle stretches and range of motion exercises, before proceeding to strengthening the affected area.
Simultaneously, we create a personalized plan that includes exercises to maintain cardiovascular health, strengthening the lower body, and promote overall wellness while minimizing the risk of further injury to the affected area.
Maintaining an Active Recovery
By maintaining a certain level of activity, athletes can improve their overall physical condition, which can also speed up the recovery process when they are able to start rehabilitating the injured elbow, wrist, or shoulder. Our approach is designed to ensure that athletes can safely return to their sport at the appropriate time and in the best possible physical condition.
Our approach is grounded in the fundamentals of injury management and rehabilitation. Our primary goal is to address the injury and work with the athlete to relieve pain, improve function and prevent further injury. We believe that a simple, effective approach is often the best way to achieve long-term success.
Hormones and the Growing Athlete
Additionally, we consider the hormonal changes of a growing body that can impact a player’s physical performance and injury risk such as bone density, muscle mass, and joint laxity. Our rehab program also looks to correct any muscle imbalances or movement patterns that could contribute to injury. By taking into account the changes in hormones that occur during growth and development, physical therapists can help young baseball players achieve their full potential while minimizing the risk of injury.
Common Baseball Injuries:
Some of the most common types of injuries in youth baseball include:
Overuse injuries: These occur due to repetitive motions such as throwing, swinging, or pitching. They can include conditions like rotator cuff strains or tears, elbow tendinitis, or stress fractures.
Shoulder Injuries: Shoulder injuries are common in baseball due to the overhead throwing motion. They can include rotator cuff strains or tears, labral tears, and bursitis.
Elbow Injuries: Elbow injuries are also common in baseball, particularly among pitchers. They can include ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tears, little league elbow, or elbow tendinitis.
Wrist and Hand injuries: These can occur due to repetitive motions or trauma, and can include conditions like sprains, strains, or fractures.
Knee Injuries: Knee injuries can include patellar tendonitis (inflammation of the tendon that connects the kneecap to the shinbone), ACL tears (injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament), and meniscus tears (injuries to the cartilage in the knee joint).
Hamstring Strains: Hamstring strains occur when there is a tear or strain in the muscles at the back of the thigh. This can occur during running, jumping, or sliding.
Ankle Sprains: Ankle sprains can occur when a player lands awkwardly on their foot or twists their ankle while running or making a sudden change in direction.
Fractures: Fractures can occur in various parts of the body, including the wrist, arm, ankle, or foot. They can be caused by a sudden impact, collision, or fall.
Concussions: Concussions can occur when a player is hit in the head, such as by a ball or bat. They can cause symptoms such as headache, dizziness, confusion, and memory loss.
Traumatic injuries: These are injuries that occur due to sudden impact, collisions, or falls. They can include fractures, contusions, or dislocations.
Injury Prevention
It’s important to note that many of these injuries can be prevented with proper conditioning, training, and technique. Additionally, early recognition and treatment of injuries can help prevent more serious or chronic conditions from developing. Trying to play through pain only increases damage and prolongs any recovery process. If you have pain that doesn’t go away after a few days or feel a twitch or pull it is always advisable to visit your primary care physician or a sports medicine specialist to rule out a serious problem.
Returning to Sport
Once the athlete is ready, we work with coaches and trainers to help prevent future injuries and improve performance. However, this is always done with a focus on the athlete’s long-term health and wellbeing. We believe that performance improvement should never come at the cost of increased injury risk, and we work closely with coaches and trainers to develop safe, effective training programs that keep athletes healthy and performing at their best.
Our philosophy with physical therapy is focused on providing athletes with the tools they need to recover from injury and maintain their physical fitness over the long term. We believe that by focusing on injury management and rehabilitation first, we can set athletes up for long-term success and help them avoid future injuries.
Experience the Progressive Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Difference:
We have more than 20 years of experience in rehabbing baseball injuries, including our own children and their teammates. We have seen it all, heard it all, and most importantly, understand the importance of educating parents and keeping them involved in the rehab process. Our approach is different because of our vast clinical experience combined with the latest scientific evidence that is designed to generate results.