"Coach, Why Does My Arm Hurt?

Coach, Why Does My Arm Hurt?

By Chip Lemin

Greetings to all coaches,

Now that the youth baseball season is in full swing, we will hopefully see the results of any pre-season work. If your team worked extra hard on defense, you should see the results. You may also notice a drop off in offensive production, due to the extra time on defense. This is normal and will adjust itself over the course of the season. What you don't want to see is any of your players coming down with sore arms as the result of too much off season throwing.

Many teams want to get started early in the year,often many weeks before the start of the season. Too often these practices include too much throwing without monitoring the amount of throws by the players. Players are also not properly warmed up,or worse yet, not stretched out enough. Often, coaches will have the players throwing too hard, too early.Coaches need to teach players how to properly stretch out and warm up early in their careers. An 8 yr old may not need to warm up as much,but they should be taught. As these players get older,it will become very important. They must have this ingrained into them before that age. This is YOUR responsibility as a youth baseball coach.

These players that came down with sore arms all had some type of growth plate injury. Their parents listened to the players complaints and went to doctors for exams.The good thing is that none of these injuries were very serious yet. They were the result of overuse. It began with too much pre season throwing.I know that none of these coaches did this out of negligence. They are all good veteran coaches from successful programs.

One parent, who is a good friend of mine, stated that the specialist they saw, told them this fact. No player at 12 years old should have ANY ARM PAIN. If they do, shut them down right away. Then consult your doctor.It is not worth the young player's health under any conditions.

There many ways to run pre season workouts without throwing the baseball so much. Speed and agility drills are one. Foot work drills are another. Fielding drills without throwing full speed is another. You want your players to come out of spring training fresh and ready to play, not compensating their throwing form because of a sore arm. Remember, these young players may not want to disappoint the coaches or parents by getting hurt,so they may not tell you. You must pay attention to your players. If you see any change in their form ask them if their arm hurts. The earlier it is noticed the quicker it can be treated. Many times all it will need is rest.

This just a reminder to keep a close eye on your young players. They are giving it all they have most of the time.You must give quality leadership and instruction as a youth baseball coach. Do your best to protect their health on and off the field. Please abide by pitch counts for your age groups. Thanks for your time and I hope you and your team are enjoying a fun season. Thanks

Coach Chip.

Chip Lemin has been a promoter of youth baseball since they started using aluminum bats. That's a long time. I have witnessed many good people get into coaching without solid coaching skills and it is not fun for them or the kids.Today's newer coaches are also being shortchanged on sportsmanship, like there is none. Visit my site to sign up for a insightful, informational, free coaching e-course at http://www.baseballecourse.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chip_Lemin

The Effects of Ibuprofen on Youth Pitching Arms

QuickSwingTrainer.com

By Dan Gazaway

We are hearing more and more cases of Tendinitis developing in our youth pitchers. The normal recommendations or treatments for recovery are Ice, rest and a lot of Ibuprofen. How does all of this relate to the recovery process on the pitching arm? Well, we all know that there is definitely an overuse of young pitching arms. Some pitchers now days are playing for three different leagues or teams. They might play for a Super League team, City league and a fall league team. Regardless of each league counting pitches, Many pitchers are starting two or three games a week on the mound. That is ridiculous! There is no recovery time for the arm and less preparation time for your next outing.

How do we take care of Tendinitis or prevent it? The Diet plays a major role in the inflammatory process; the foods that you eat can stimulate inflammation and feed it like gas on a fire. Inflammation is the breakdown of old cells and the replacement of new cells. The diet that you're on can stimulate more of a chronic type of inflammatory response. As a pitcher, you want to make sure that you are eating an anti-inflammatory diet rich in essential fats.

There is value to Ice and rest, but there are many parents out there that give their kids too much Ibuprofen. Much of our diet is deficient in essential fatty acids EFA's. A lot of authors right now are writing about how the body is dealing with the inflammatory diet and say it is causing a prolonged effect on inflammation. In fact, there are necessary fats that we need in our diet. For the last 30 years the typical diet for Americans is anti fat, limited fat or no fat diets. The essential fats are Omega 3's that prevent inflammation. DHA is good for your liver and your brain. EPA's good for your joints. They slow down the inflammatory response.

When you throw a baseball you are constantly wearing on the ligaments, tendons and joints themselves. Choose Omega 3's that are rich in these essential fatty acids and not really rely on all of the ibuprofen. There is a lot of late research being done about the effects of Ibuprofen that suggest that it can actually slow down the healing process of tendinitis. The other danger of Ibuprofen is that you can play with pain and continue to damage the surrounding tendons and ligaments in your throwing arm.

Dan Gazaway is the owner and founder of The Pitching Academy in Utah. Coach Gazaway specializes in pitching mechanics and often writes and speaks about effective pitching workouts You can visit his website to learn more about baseball pitching grips, drills and tips.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Gazaway

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