Rotator Cuff Tears in Pitchers – Avoid & Prevent!

A pitcher’s worst nightmare, hearing that you’re done for the season with a torn rotator cuff! This is an extremely common injury baseball because of the constant strain and use of the rotator cuff in the shoulder with throwing baseballs or more specifically pitching.

So, what is a rotator cuff? It’s a group of four muscles in the shoulder that make the throwing motion possible. Athletes, like baseball players, who throw as a major part of their performance, place a lot of stress on the shoulder, which can lead to injury. As an athlete, coach, general manager, or even if you find yourself on the diamond every so often, it’s important to understand the symptoms of rotator cuff tears and how to prevent the injury!

Symptoms

With rotator cuff tears, the first thing you’ll start to notice is tightness in the shoulder, pain, and fatigue. The arm becomes weak and everyday activities seem to be more difficult, like sleeping on your injured shoulder or lifting your arm. Rotator cuff tears may be the result of wear in the shoulder tendons through continuous pitching or a substantial injury on the field. Even if you think it’s a minor pain, it might just be the first signs, so see a trained doctor or specialist right away.

Prevention

It’s important to do multiple exercises and frequent stretches to prevent rotator cuff injury. Strengthen your rotator cuff by using lower resistance training with more repetitions. At Next Level Wellness, our trained specialists can teach you simple exercises for prevention. These types of exercises will gradually strengthen those small muscles in the shoulder without the risk of injury. Make sure you get out on the pitcher’s mound a little bit early to warm up the shoulder before striking the other team out!

Treatment

Treating a torn rotator cuff all depends on how much the injury progressed. It’s important for an athlete to understand the signs so he or she can immediately seek help. Our goal is to make sure we catch the injury before it benches our athletes. Sometimes, all that is needed to restore the shoulder is conservative methods like physical therapy, rest and lots of ice. If these methods don’t alleviate the injury, there are different types of surgeries available like arthroscopic tendon repair or open tendon repair.

Our team of doctors and chiropractors at Next Level Wellness Center can provide throwing analysis and teach movements and stretches to get you back on the pitcher’s mound before surgery is ever needed! 

To learn more about our variety of services or to schedule an appointment, please contact us or call

949-263-9003 today.