Baseball Arm Care: What Should You Do (By Age)? 

I think that's perfectly fine. I also feel the dissonance behind the shutdown periods. It's clear that low-effort throwing is safe in almost any dosage - infielders rarely get injured by comparison despite huge volumes of daily throwing. INF throws are usually 60-85% of full speed. Runners run mostly year round but have easy periods. Weightlifters lift year-round, but just taper down and have their own easy periods. I think non-pitching easy throwing period is safe, but that's just my opinion - as you mentioned, no one really has data on that but it seems to fit common sense. Pitching at full speed is the harmful variable.

@@DanBlewett Thank you

Just fine, look at those pitchers from northern latitudes, Pat Hetgen comes to mind who played hockey in the winter months.

no prob! I know you and I discussed this a bit - thanks for the idea!

yes - going forward, do the best you can.

I've never heard of a 10 year old fracturing his arm from throwing a ball. bizarre. Did the doc say it's rare to see?

@@nofurtherwest3474 yes rare but the dr (in a large city at one of the top Ortho practices in the us) also had three cases of it in one year

If anyone is following or researching a throwers fracture like Tony Saunders had and my then 10 year old had, I wanted to update our status. My son fully recovered. The dr advised that he didn’t do anything “wrong” and that the pure torque leads to a throwers fracture. My son has no more chance of it happening again than any other kid. That said, we are even further aware and conscious of good arm care.

@@aprilterry3071 it is rare for age 10 because 1) they do not create big forces like an adult and 2) they have more flexible tendons and joints he prob needs to warm up better. and have more well rounded muscles. maybe he is not doing other sports or activities to have well roundedness idk

here: ru-vid.com/group/PLw7qBM3nR3LN5bTmSKjM6CsTt6cR2Pm_2

@@DanBlewett thank you!

Every kid throughout baseball history just picked up the ball and threw it. If it wasn’t okay to some degree, everyone would have been healthy. I think that’s fine as long as it’s warm enough outside and they start throwing softly. After all, the best warm up for the muscles of the throwing arm is throwing itself, but at a low and gradually increasing intensity.

11 is borderline. If they're focused and mature enough and want to, then its fine. Strength training is never unhealthy at any age, just unnecessary or dangerous if they can't focus and be safe in a weight room and do things properly. It's just a question of that - maturity and focus and attention to detail. But usually 12+ is my broad brushstroke starting age.

@@DanBlewett thanks! Recent article in Mens Journal says if they are past 8 ... and in sports ... they are already a bit behind. The show research that says find the right trainer... get going now. Mirroring what you said about motivation and the right technique and supervision!

That article is garbage - kids are absolutely not behind if they are past 8 years old. Complete nonsense.

Thanks Dan. Didn't sound right to me!

@@DanBlewett - Thank you for emphasizing that issue. For us farm boys who started lifting "weights" at a very tender age, hearing people state manipulating heavy objects before a certain age never added up.

every player should do arm care, and outfielders seem to have worse-feeling arms than other positions, and my guess it because they wait longer periods of time between very hard throws, whereas infielders make more frequent but lower intensity throws. Long story short, OFs should do arm care at 14-15, but it wouldnt worry me as a much as a parent because its just not as overuse-intensive as a position compared to pitching or catching.

@@DanBlewett thank you for the input. I’m going to start talking about Arm care with my son. I’d like to at least plant the seed so to speak.

I dont specific tips, no, but I'd assume any rotator cuff / rhomboid / lower trap exercises would benefit you. Would probably be worth a conversation with a good PT or someone who specializes in scoliosis

@@DanBlewett yeah I've been looking around recently for pt's/spine docs. My scoliosis is literally so minor it just wouldn't be covered by insurance I think since it's not even noteworthy day to day pain. The rhomboid notes a good one I hadn't heard before actually and it makes sense with where the discomfort comes from. I'll have to dive into possible exercises for that. Thanks Big D.

This playlist of mine is a good place to start - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3QIpKznOJjc.html

@@pumpbustersv1 I've experienced this as well. From being a former collegiate pitcher --- Mainly from just throwing, using muscles on the right side of my back/body that don't get used on the left. The first thing I would recommend is stretching. Any stretch you do with your right shoulder/back/arm/tricep/froearm - do with your left as well. Secondly, do a lot of band work post pitching with your left throwing shoulder. Say you just threw a game and had 45 pitches. + your 30-40 bullpen/warm up pitches. Take your bands and simulate that with your left side. This is will give you not only strength on your left side, but coordination as well. Also, take the offseason, non throwing days, and get in the weight room. Work and focus on unilateral movements. Specifically dumbbell exercises that focus on traps/rhomboids/rotator cuff. The most underrated muscle to work is your serrates anterior. Strongly recommend Yoga in the offseason as well. Try doing trivial everyday activities with your left side also i.e brushing your teeth, cutting your steak, typing on the computer, etc,. Muscle imbalance is very, very common issue with baseball pitchers and tennis players that can cause a lot of minor/major inconveniences later in life. Trust me, I've been through it! Let me know if you have any questions!

in regards to what

@@DanBlewett taking care of his arm. a kid that young shouldn't be throwing that hard, although I had seen him do it in the backyard, he hadn't done it it a game. They don't really have a kid who can catch him at 57, a lot of passed balls. He plays third in the field or catches and the throw to third is no problem if he knows the !B can catch. Otherwise he pulls the throw so as to keep the ball from foul ground. But since he's discovered that"show your butt, dip, then drive and stretch" it's hard to cool him off. If allowed he'd probably throw 100 a day. What do you do for a kid that young to get them to protect their arm?

theres no reason to be alarmed, and he probably throws that hard mostly because he's bigger than other kids his age - making him developmentally older than 9 years old. In all my years training, I've never seen good compliance with an arm care regimen below age 12. At 12 it's still hard. It's tedious work that requires attention to detail. Most kids dont have that. Just because a player throws harder than average doesnt mean he's going to break down quickly.

@@DanBlewett THX I'll let his dad know.

He’s definitely in a higher risk category because he throws so much harder than average. And coaches often overuse the best kids because they’re so dominant. So be careful

@@DanBlewett Yup you are right on the money coach, he is a lefty too. But I shut those coaches down when they try to over use him. Bye I’m a big fan of your channel thanks for the advice

theyre not a real solution to any real problems.

@@DanBlewett thank you

what?