Is pitching bad for your arm?

As it does with the bicep tendon, the repeated motion of pitching can cause irritation in the rotator cuff, the foursome of muscles between your collarbone and your arm. Tendinitis in this spot can be felt both during pitching and at rest, depending on severity. It can also limit the shoulder's range of motion.

Why is pitching bad for you?

Maybe the easiest way to put it is this: Pitching is an unnatural movement that puts unnatural stress on the elbow and shoulder joints. Every starting pitcher is 1% more likely to hit the disabled list every year they pitch. So, really, every pitch is bad for you.

How do pitchers keep their arms healthy?

Do arm care exercises for the shoulder, biceps, triceps, elbow, forearm, wrist and hand three times a week. Use light weight dumbbells, or flexible tubing. Also do push-ups 2-3 times a week. Dumbbells, flexible tubing and medicine balls are much more functional than using machines in the weight room.

Why is throwing a baseball bad for your arm?

Flexor Tendinitis

Repetitive throwing can irritate and inflame the flexor/pronator tendons where they attach to the humerus bone on the inner side of the elbow. Athletes will have pain on the inside of the elbow when throwing, and if the tendinitis is severe, they will also experience pain during rest.

What happens to your arm after pitching?

After pitching in a baseball game, a player might experience mild muscle soreness in the pitching arm. This is typically caused by micro-tears in the muscle. These tears are actually how your body builds muscle, as the body repairs the muscles to be bigger and stronger.

Arm Pain Do's and Don'ts for Baseball Players

Do baseball pitchers ruin their arms?

Without proper training and care, a pitcher can so easily injure or even permanently damage their arm. And once an injury occurs, proper attention is key to keeping the injury from turning into something more serious.

How many times a week should a pitcher throw?

Once or twice a week, you may want to "air it out" with some long toss beyond 120 feet. That's up to you. But 10 quality minutes of throwing a day, and you're on your way to developing a great arm!

Should pitchers throw every day?

Throw every day. Professional pitchers on both the minor and major league levels throw every single day for at least 10 quality minutes.

Is throwing hard Make your arm stronger?

"If you want to increase the strength in your arm, you've got to go throw," Keith Chatalein, a baseball trainer in Utah, said. It's a daily, 10-minute routine Garrido practices at Texas where players throw longer-than-normal distances. Beyond long toss, mechanics affect throwing velocity.

How much throwing is too much?

Kids 7 to 8 years old shouldn't throw more than 50 pitches per game, experts say. That number goes up as children get older, but even 17- and 18-year-olds shouldn't throw more than 105 pitches during a game. (For kids 9 and 10 years old, the limit is 75; 11 and 12 years old, 85; and 13 to 16 years old, 95.)

What age should kids start pitching?

A handful of online forums mention 9 or 10 as being the right age, but not as any sort of hard, fast rule; the official Little League site has kids pitching starting at age 9. Major League Baseball's official Pitch Smart guidelines recommend that players 8 and under throw no more than 50 pitches in a game.

What is the most common pitching injury?

Although pitchers can develop injuries within the lower body, majority of the problems develop within their throwing arm. The most common baseball pitching injuries tend to involve the rotator cuff or the elbow.

How much should a 12 year old pitch?

The league age pitch counts for Little League Baseball® are as follows: Ages 13-16 – 95 pitches per day. Ages 11-12 – 85 pitches per day. Ages 9-10 – 75 pitches per day.

How hard should a 14 year old be pitching?

13 And 14-Year-Olds

An average fastball from this age range is anywhere from 55 mph (on the low side) to 75 mph. A pitcher throwing 75 mph is better than most people for this age, and their fastball is at a high school quality. An average changeup for this age is approximately around the 50-60 mph mark.

What pitch is hardest on the arm?

Sliders had the highest arm stress (54.6 ± 12.9 N·m) while curveballs had the lowest (46.8 ± 16.3 N·m). Fastball arm stress was 50.1 ± 16.8 N·m and changeup arm stress was 51.3 ± 15.5 N·m.

Is pitching hard on your body?

Of all the players on a baseball field, pitchers tend to be more susceptible to upper body injuries. The immense pressure of the repetitive throwing motion can wreak havoc on their elbows and shoulders.

Is throwing strength genetic?

If you watch pitchers throwing in slow motion, their arm seems to wind up into some position it shouldn't be able to reach. It's a genetic abnormality that gives elite pitchers a high performance arm. The athlete who has the right anatomy can throw 80 or 90 miles an hour.

Do you throw harder off a mound or flat ground?

On average, each athlete threw flatgrounds 10 mph slower than on the mound, and the average stress decreased by 3 Newton metres (Nm). Taking velocity into account, with mStress, we can see that flatground throws ranked higher than pitching off the mound.

Why is my throwing arm so weak?

A pitcher feeling weak requires shoulder examination. Pain and/or weakness are common signs of ligament weakness. Ligament weakness in the shoulder will almost always lead to rotator cuff tendonitis. If this is not treated, the rotator cuff muscles will give out, putting even more stress and strain on the ligaments.

At what age do most pitchers peak?

Generally, pitchers see their velocity peak in their early 20s and steadily decline by a full mile per hour by age 26. After that, velocity drops more sharply and continues a steep decline into a pitcher's 30s.

Should pitchers throw heavy balls?

Weighted ball programs are increasingly being utilized by baseball pitchers to increase throwing velocity. There are various studies providing empirical support that these programs are, in fact, able to increase pitching velocity and maximal shoulder external rotation.

How fast do high school pitchers pitch?

On the average, a typical Varsity high school fastball is between 75-85 mph, although many good Varsity pitchers will be seeing the upper 80s and low 90 range. The Freshmen pitchers will usually be throwing at a comparable speed to the 13 and 14 year olds, and the Sophomores will lie somewhere in the middle.

How fast should a d1 pitcher throw?

Prototypical Division I pitching recruits throw anywhere between 87 and 95 MPH on a consistent basis. It is important to remember that coaches are looking for pitchers to consistently throw at this velocity, not just touch it every once and awhile.

How fast should a 14 year old pitcher throw?

Average freshman pitcher (14 to 15 year old) cruising speed would be about 70 mph. Average cruising speed for a good high school pitching prospect at 14 to 15 years old would be about 75 mph.