Baseball injuries part 2

Here is part 2 of 3 regarding Baseball injuries:

Elbow injuries also get a lot of attention. Most people have heard of the dreaded Tommy John procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament is reconstructed. This procedure commonly sidelines a player for a full year if not longer. When the stress of the throwing motion is not able to be absorbed by the shoulder joint, the next stop for this stress is the elbow. Most often a throwers elbow pain has been caused by one of 2 things. Either he or she has weakness in his or her rotator cuff or they may have mechanic issues which can stress the elbow in unneeded ways.

Please follow this link to see our most recent rotator cuff and shoulder stabilizer strengthening article on injury prevention. 

Shoulder stabilization exercises for your workout

One of OSR's Physical Therapists was recently published on the National Academy of Sports Medicine blog. Read the article and learn shoulder stability exercises here!

Baseball and softball injuries part 1: Rotator cuff and ulnar collateral ligaments

With both baseball and softball seasons in full swing it’s time to re-visit throwing injuries and safety. There are several different throwing injuries that can occur. My goal for this series of posts for June and July is to touch on the most common and how to treat and prevent those injuries.

The shoulder injury which garners the most attention is most likely the rotator cuff tear. The rotator cuff consists of 4 muscles which help to keep the ball of the joint in the socket. These muscles are vital to throwing motion (and everyday movement) to stabilize the shoulder. Rotator cuff strengthening is necessary to avoid tears. Another important function of the rotator cuff is to absorb the energy of the throwing motion in order to avoid stresses on other parts of the arm such as the elbow.

 


Elbow injuries get a lot of attention in throwing sports. Most people have heard of the dreaded Tommy John procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament is reconstructed. This procedure commonly sidelines a player for a full year if not longer. When the stress of the throwing motion is not able to be absorbed by the shoulder joint, the next stop for this stress is the elbow. Most often a throwers elbow pain has been caused by one of 2 things. Either he or she has weakness in his or her rotator cuff or they may have mechanic issues which can stress the elbow in unneeded ways.



Interested in more information? Leave us a post! Also, check back next week for the 2nd of 4 parts in our throwing injury series!

Eccentric Calf Exercise with a Ball

Last week we on the Blog discussed Achilles tendinitis and eccentric calf raises on a step. Here is a variation that can be performed with a ball. If your sport/art is dance, you can also perform this turned out or with your pointe shoes on.

Achilles tendon pain

Do you have Achilles tendinopathy? As we get back outdoors to do more walking, running, and activity in the spring and summer, this common condition may become more provoked with greater use.



The British Journal of Sports Medicine and Science suggests beginning management with the following techniques:
1. Get an evaluation from a qualified provider
2. Night splinting has been effective in many cases
3. Eccentric calf exercises have been effective in many cases.

Here is a video of how eccentric calf exercises are performed:

Not sure where to begin? Need a sports Physical Therapist or Athletic Trainer to help? OSR Physical Therapy offers free consults to help you get moving in the right direction. They also offer full service Athletic Training and Physical Therapy services to help with your rehabilitation.

Relieve joint stress and pain

Our joints face a lot of stress throughout our day, especially when there is an injury. It changes the way the body functions and moves. This can cause secondary pain and problems due to compensations to perform everyday movement and high level activity.

Recently, I attended a course on the treatment of common extremity dysfunction through mobilization. This course was 16 hours long, 75% hands on experience and covered everything from the hand to the foot. The focus was on mobilization of the joint in order to normalize the stress occurring on the various tissues around a joint. These techniques can immediately decrease stress and pain for individuals. It is quick and pain free to do. After the joint tissues have been normalized it is important to then exercise to reinforce what has been done.

Want to learn more about this technique? Here is a link to the course web site. 

This article was written by Hannah Schultz, PTA at OSR Physical Therapy. 

OSR's providers value continuing education

Many of OSR's Physical Therapists, Ryan Koepp, Nate Stier, and Rusty Wallman attended the Current Concepts in Sports Medicine spring conference in Minneapolis.

Physical Therapist, Meredith Butulis, also teamed up with other area providers to present on Dance Medicine.

Have a question or comment on how continuing education helps our patients? Leave us a post!