“I only threw 20 pitches yesterday, why does my arm hurt?” At surface level, this may make sense to some people. However, just looking at someone’s in game pitch count doesn’t tell the entire story of workload. Before we move any further, please understand that there is an abundance of factors that play into arm pain and soreness, such as sleep, hydration, tissue preparation, mechanical deficiencies, and strength training. This blog is not about any of those. It is simply addressing one’s workload during a fall or spring scrimmage and how it can impact performance and recovery.
It’s an easy habit to fall into. You’re the last pitcher of the scrimmage, you have 5 guys in front of you and a few hours to kill. So, you’ll team stretch and get a half stretch going then move into some catch play to about 120feet. From there, you’ll sit for about45 minutes and still thinking that your body is activated and prepped. Maybe you get 2 minutes of J-bands in and then chuck some plyos. You’ll sit backdown for another 30 minutes and then throw a few more plyos. Finally, you have 2 guys left in front of you. You really want to make sure you’re nice and loose, so you head back out into the right field corner and long toss. Finally, you make your way back in and get some crow hops off the mound. Your slider isn’t as sharp as it normally is, so you throw 15 in a row trying to get a feel. Finally, after facing two “batters” in the bullpen you head out for your outing. You have a 20-pitch inning and now it’s time you clean up the field and rush through your post throw.
I’m guilty of this as a player. I’ve witnessed this as a coach. At that point, it takes the athlete 3 days to recover or get back to baseline instead of 1 or 2 days maximum. Why is that? Because no one ever batted an eye at their pre outing workload. Look back at that last paragraph. That athlete went through three different intensities (arguably 4) that should have been spread out over an entire time frame of a week.
Let’s examine Athlete A. Notice on the graph below the huge spike in arm pain (going from a 2-7)after his outing. This was a common trend throughout his fall so I began to examine his routine the day of his outing. What I saw was exactly what I just described two paragraphs above and he was not the only one like this. Not only is this not an optimal pre outing routine, but it’s not even game like. When was the last time you saw someone warming up during an inning in right field? The goal should always be to challenge the athlete, not accommodate to their needs to make sure they have a perfect scenario.
There are a few ways to combat this happening to yourself or your athletes.
1. Delay Your Warm Up
This seems like an obvious remark but I believe it is overlooked. If you have a mandatory team stretch then it’s not going to kill you to stretch with the team or even play some light catch. What is a velocity killer is what you do in between that time and your outing. The hot then cold does not work. In fact, Netherlands Manager and World CupChampion, Brian Farley, has a rule that a pitcher can only get hot twice. After that, the pitcher cannot be used.
2. Activate Your Body Not Your Arm
This goes back to the old Texas Baseball Ranch saying, “We warm up to throw, not throw to warm up.” I’ve always been curious how professional relievers sustain an entire season. Throwing a 95+ mph fastball every 2-3 days for half the year can take a huge toll on the arm. I asked CP athlete, Brandyn Sittinger, what his in game routine looked like as a reliever. He emphasized that he never touches a baseball until he is told to get hot. He will do a lot of dynamic workaround the 5th to activate his CNS but never throw. His routine includes: Med ball throws, pogo jumps, box jumps, and band resistance work. Notice how none of that included poles or sprints. There are better ways to activate your body rather than running.
3. Purchase a Durathro Sock
On a Motus Sleeve a Durathro Sock counts for about a third of the stress as a normal baseball throw. The sock can allow you to cut balls loose without fully taxing the arm as you would compared to a normal pull down. You can even throw your secondary pitches in the sock to allow proper decel while working on your breaking balls. I have seen the sock be a reliable pre inning and pre outing routine.