Common Baseball Injuries
Opening day is finally here! And while we may not be able to spectate or tailgate like we normally would, we can still root on our favorite teams! Did you know baseball can have lasting effects on our bodies? It is import to understand and appreciate the anatomy involved and how it relates to the most typically experienced injuries during such a repetitive and overhead-dominant sport.
4 Performance Tips for Overhead Athletes
Training for overhead athletes oftentimes includes performing repetitive overhead activities in order to improve power and strength in their dominant extremity. However, this repetition can lead to overuse injuries, including rotator cuff injuries, labrum tears and ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tears.
So, how do you become a good overhead athlete while minimizing the risk for overuse injury? Below are tips to improve performance, up your game and avoid injury!
Offseason Training Tips for Overhead Athletes
Baseball, softball, lacrosse, football, volleyball and tennis players all use overhead throwing in their sports. These athletes require power and strength for overhead positions in their dominant extremity.
With many sports currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s a great time for athletes to consider cross-training. It has been shown to be beneficial for overhead athletes to participate in more than one sport due to the benefits of cross training. However, many young athletes are specializing in one sport for more than nine months of the year. In order to reduce the risk of injury from repetitive motions, such as overhead throwing, athletes should incorporate cross training into their routines.
Beyond the Arm: 3 Ways to Maximize Performance in Overhead Athletes
As the weather warms up, many athletes are heading to the baseball and softball fields for a summer packed with nonstop practices, games and tournaments. Regardless of their experience, these athletes want to perform at their highest possible level while also staying healthy. Luckily, performance enhancement and injury prevention go hand-in-hand in the throwing athlete.
Importance of Lower Extremity Strengthening for Overhead Athletes
Overhead athletes play a variety of sports, including baseball, lacrosse, football, volleyball and even tennis. These athletes require power and strength in their dominant extremity for overhead positions. However, it is important to also consider the lower extremities of these athletes in a strengthening program.
5 Common Mistakes Made by Overhead Athletes
It’s baseball and softball season and that means three things to me as an athletic trainer: hot dogs, bleachers and shoulder pain. While all three of those cause discomfort in their own way, I find shoulder pain to be the most pertinent to be addressed by my skill set. I’ve found that a majority of shoulder pain stems from a few of the following avoidable mistakes made by overhead athletes. (more…)
