Brian Schiff’s Blog
Injury Prevention, Sports Rehab & Performance Training Expert
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It is that time of year where baseball pre-season throwing is ramping up. I am starting to see throwers coming in to my clinic with shoulder and elbow issues. In many cases, injury can be avoided with proper stretching and strengthening as well as effective loading programs.
Pectoralis major/minor and latissimus muscle tightness along with poor scapular control often leads to postural dysfunction and shoulder problems. Improving shoulder mobility and scapular control can reduce injury risk and shoulder strain.
The video below from one of my Functional Fit columns will demonstrate an excellent exercise that can be programmed for every thrower to aid in optimizing shoulder mobility and promoting shoulder health.
I often use this exercise following soft tissue release techniques and in conjunction with thoracic spine extension mobilization on the roller. It is an excellent warm-up and activation exercise.
I recently featured this exercise in my online column for PFP Magazine. This is a great arm care exercise that should be part of every overhead athlete’s routine, especially my throwers. I like to use these types of exercises to prepare the shoulder for higher level lifts as well as serve as staples of an in-season or off-season arm care program.
Click here to read the full column.
High school baseball season is upon us. My son is a high school junior and recently verbally committed to pitch for a Division 1 school. He has worked hard to earn that offer, but the part most people do not see is the arm care and recovery work we do for him behind the scenes. Below is a recent picture of him in action.
I see lots of baseball players in my clinic ranging from 10 year olds to my MLB guys. One of the biggest issues I confront in my players (more commonly pitchers and catchers) is a condition known as internal impingement. While not the same thing as subacromial impingement, it still can impact the rotator cuff. Essentially, there is friction that causes irritation and in some cases injury to the rotator cuff and/or labrum. This usually manifests as pain in late cocking and the inability to throw hard without pain. Pitchers report decreased velocity and catchers struggle to thrown down to second with their their normal ease.
One of the most common issues leading to this is a loss of total shoulder motion on the throwing arm. Most notably, some players display significantly less internal rotation (IR) range of motion. Some loss of internal rotation is normal and expected over time provided they gain enough external rotation (ER) on the throwing side to counterbalance the asymmetry. Often, too much throwing early in the season or a big jump in pitch count/intensity/volume coupled with the ROM loss causes pain. This can occur suddenly or gradually build up over a few outings or games.
Pectoralis minor tightness coupled with kyphosis often leads to postural dysfunction, limited thoracic mobility and shoulder problems. This can increase injury risk for overhead athletes, Olympic lifters and fitness enthusiasts participating in regular weight training.
This exercise is from one of my columns for PFP Magazine, and it can be integrated as part of a warm-up/movement prep session prior to engaging in overhead sports or lifting activities. In addition, it can serve as a daily corrective to improve shoulder mobility and posture. Finally, it can be used in recovery and the cool-down to address soft tissue tightness in the chest. When used post-workout, I suggest a slightly longer hold time to emphasize more passive stretching when force production is not a concern.
Click here to read the entire column including details on the execution.
I came across some very good reads on Twitter last week week that I wanted to pass along. The first is a blog post by Rich Willy, a PT, professor and researcher who specializes in running and running related injuries. If you or any of your friends have suffered from nagging IT Band pain, this is a must read. In this post, he discusses proper treatment strategies:
The second pearl involves long toss and force on the elbow. Ever wonder how advising a pitcher to reduce his throwing intensity actually impacts velocity and torque on the elbow? It seems that decreasing effort level by 25% and 50% does not equate to the same reduction in actual velocity with a study using the motus sleeve. Read more below:
Baseball Pitchers’ Long Toss Perceived Effort & Actual Velocity
Finally, there has been much discussion about return to sport assessment after ACL reconstruction. Lately, many have begun to question how effective hop testing really is when it cones to determining readiness to return to sport. I use several assessments (one of which is hop testing), but I also feel psychological readiness is crucial.
This article sheds light on the connection between proper single limb landing mechanics and psychological readiness.
Association of Psychological Readiness for RTS after ACLR and Hip and Knee Landing Mechanics
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