Baseball Mobility Drills to Improve Performance and Reduce Injury Risk
By Brandon Voth, DPT, OCS and Robin Heilskov, PTA, APP
Managing throwing volumes alone will significantly reduce the risk of overuse injuries in youth baseball players. However, it is also important to have time dedicated to an arm care program that focuses on upper and lower extremity range of motion and strength training.
Injury statistics:
- Since 2000 there has been a fivefold increase in the number of serious shoulder and elbow injuries among youth baseball and softball players
- 20% of children ages 8-12 and 45% of children ages 13-14 will have arm pain during a single youth baseball season. Overuse injuries are responsible for nearly half of all sports injuries in middle school and high school athletes
- According to the CDC, more than half of all sports injuries in children are preventable
Reducing injury at the youth level:
- Pitching >100 = 3X increase in injury risk
- Average >80 pitches = 4X increase in injury risk
- Pitching >8 months per year = 5X increase in injury risk
Arm Care (mobility work):
Changes in shoulder and elbow range of motion can be seen immediately after pitching and over the course of a season. The loss in range of motion is due to the high levels of muscle activity that occurs when throwing a baseball. That is why it is important for baseball players of all ages to develop a routine that they can perform before, during and after a throwing session.
The Two-Out Drill was developed as a short duration stretching drill that is effective in restoring shoulder motion after pitching. As the name indicates, it can be performed between innings (when your team is batting and has two outs) to minimize the effects of pitching the previous inning. It can also be used as a warm-up/cool down drill after playing catch.
Watch this video of Brandon Voth, DPT, OCS, and Robin Heilskov, PTA, APP, discussing ways to incorporate mobility in your training sessions.
If you are having shoulder or arm pain related to baseball or have an injury that is affecting your ability to play, schedule a free 15-minute screening appointment to get your questions answered, learn self-help tips and get you back to the game as quickly as possible.
