Baseball Treatments & Recovery Therapies

Throwing Injuries - Prevention and Recovery

A Popular Sport, a Common Injury

Baseball is a popular sport, second only to football in terms of fan intensity. While watching baseball is an American tradition, it is even more fun to play. There are over 12 million amateur ballplayers in the United States, most of them children playing in neighborhood parks and back lots, giving it all they've got on the field. While baseball remains a tremendously popular pastime, there is a downside to playing the sport: injuries.

The repetitive motion of hurling a baseball across the field places tremendous stress on arms and shoulders, and can lead to injury; young players are particularly susceptible to throwing and overuse injuries. In one recent study, nearly thirty percent of all school-aged players reported injuries of some sort. Another study found half of the high school pitchers surveyed were suffering pain or injury. Typical throwing injuries range from rotator cuff tears, shoulder impingement, SLAP tears, tendonitis, and a host of other soft tissue maladies that come from placing too much strain on the arm and shoulder. Fortunately, a sore arm doesn't have to keep you on the bench for too long. There are new and innovative techniques to treat throwing injuries and get players back in the field sooner rather than later.

The Graston Technique for Bomb Throwers

One of the newer treatments to help recover from a painful throwing injury is the Graston Technique (GT). GT is a form of soft tissue mobilization. GT involves a trained practitioner using a specially designed set of stainless steel instruments to manipulate afflicted soft tissue. The GT instruments allow clinicians to identify injured tissue, and then are used to break down scar tissue and other restrictors. The technique facilitates increased blood flow to problem areas, alleviates pain, and can speed up the recovery process. While still a relatively new medical innovation, several clinical trials have affirmed the Graston Technique's effectiveness at addressing soft tissue injuries.

GT therapy is great news for baseball players with a sore arm. Typical soft tissue injuries, often called adhesions, can keep muscles painfully tight and limit range of motion. GT is particularly effective at addressing these conditions. Additionally, GT can immediately address the buildup of scar tissue, alleviate lingering pain, and promote soft tissue healing. The Graston technique can be especially effective at addressing injuries before they become serious and debilitating, so it is worth checking with your physical therapist to get treatment as soon as your aches and pains start adding up.

Active Release Treatment Therapy (ART)

Active Release Therapy, or ART, is another relatively new non-invasive technique to treat throwing injuries commonly seen in the sport. ART is a patented technique that involves hand manipulation of soft tissue by a trained practitioner. ART's 500-move treatment protocol is exceptionally effective at identifying damaged soft tissue, and then treating it. These carefully designed, precision movements, like GT, can help increase blood flow, alleviate pain, and restore range of motion. All of this, again, is great news for sore ball players everywhere.

Specially trained ART practitioners are adept at identifying the source of soft tissue injury or pain, then breaking down the scar tissue causing it. Active Release Therapy is also used as a preventative measure to keep muscles and tendons primed for workouts, thus avoiding injury altogether. This is great news for baseball players who are experiencing routine or growing soft tissue pain. Pitchers who routinely have to throw heat inning after inning could especially benefit from the preventative qualities of ART. So if injuries are holding you back from a record fastball, Active Release Therapy may be the right choice for you.

Get Back in the Game

Baseball has been the quintessential American sport for generations. It is hard to find a community in this country that does not have a game or two or two in its local park each Saturday. However, constantly hurling a baseball across the field leaves players, especially kids, susceptible to injury. The Graston Technique and Active Release Therapy offer innovative ways to keep players' muscles and tendons in good shape, and prevent injury altogether. They are also extremely effective at treating soft tissue injuries and rapidly getting you back in in the game. So don't wait until it's too late. Do your homework, find a clinician who offers GT or ART and get back on the field.

Our Chandler Chiropractic and Physical Therapy clinic treats patients with a variety of muscle, tendon, joint, and ligament injuries. The clinic provides treatment for runners, tri-athletes, and weekend warriors in addition to common headache, neck, and back patients traditionally seen in Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, Massage Therapy clinics. We work with all ages and abilities of the residents in Phoenix, Tempe, Gilbert, Mesa, and Chandler AZ.