How the End of 2016
Can Determine Your Arm Health In 2017
September 22, 2016
(Click here for a .pdf of this newsletter)
As we (thankfully) see the end of fall ball and the start of the offseason, there are several things your baseball players should be doing:
1) Play a different sport this fall/winter as this will maximize their overall athletic development.
If you want to improve your hitting and throwing skills, focus on other rotational sports (golf/tennis/hockey) as they involve the same "chain reaction" called the kinetic chain (kinetic = movement) when developing explosion to the contact/release point.
2) Focusing on baseball-specific shoulder conditioning. Training the throwing shoulder is unlike any other type of sports conditioning and can make the difference between healthy and injury during the season.
3) Hitting the weight room (if they're old enough, preferably sophomore year of high school). There are specific muscles that you must strengthen with weights and there are muscles you must NOT train at all as they can increase arm injury risk.
4) Maintain flexibility. Training in the offseason frequently has 1 casualty: flexibility. Specifically hip and shoulder flexibility. Losing either one of them can increase injury risk. Losing both can be disastrous.
In my role as both chiropractor and pitching coach, I can help contribute to your successful offseason by addressing #'s 2, 3, and 4 in the list above.
- For baseball-specific shoulder conditioning...this comes in the form of medicine ball deceleration training. Using elastic bands and lifting weights will not do it. Medicine ball training is the key.
This is why I have a Fall and Winter medicine ball deceleration program, 1 of which starts in less than 2 weeks. Click here to learn more.
- For staying healthy in the weight room...I have put together a weight room video presentation in my baseball video library that specifically outlines the muscles tro train and, just as important, the muscles NOT to train. You have learn more about my video library by clicking here and you can subscribe by clicking here.
- For maintaing hip and shoulder flexiblity...this is where chiropractic comes in. I have created a comprehensive 6-part 'Healthy Arm Program'. You can learn about the program by clicking here.
To finish...
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"
-Henry de Bracton
Questions About This Newsletter?
Contact (PitchingDoc@msn.com / 631-352-7654) Dr. Arnold!
