This Month in Sports Rehabilitation: Young Baseball Pitchers (March 2011)

Second Annual Sports Medicine Baseball Clinic: The Youth Baseball Pitcher

• Date: March 14, 2011
• Time: 6:15-8pm
• Location: Princeton Club West
• Registration: Call (608) 265-7500 or register online (limited to 80 participants)
• Coordinators: Karl Fry and Ken Krogman specialize in treating overhead throwing athletes and baseball players and coordinate the UW Health Sports Rehabilitation Throwing Analysis Clinic
• Special Guest: Nate Verhage, Madison LaFollette High School baseball coach

Baseball is one of the safest sports available for today's youth but elbow injuries are on the rise, particulary among pitchers. Pitching puts the ulnar collateral ligament,

Sports Medicine physical therapist Karl Fry narrates this video discussion of proper pitching mechanics.

which supports the elbow, under great strain, and once it is injured, rehabilitation is difficult. Young pitchers need to develop proper mechanics and include more year-round physical conditioning as their body develops.

 

 

To demonstrate our commitment to preventing injury and maximizing performance through education and public awareness, UW Health Sports Rehabilitation is dedicating our annual baseball conference to the youth baseball pitcher.

 

Topics:

• Evidence-based risk factors commonly associated with pitching injuries
• Information about our specialty services for baseball pitchers, along with the new "physical therapy self-referral" process to assure immediate access to our baseball specialty providers
• Video and drills to demonstrate the appropriate mechanics during the early phases of the pitching delivery and drills for correcting mechanical flaws
• Demonstrations of warm-up drills and current concepts for strengthening and conditioning exercises specific to the youth baseball pitcher
• Discussion of the importance of a pre-season interval throwing program to condition young arms following a period of active rest during the off-season

Clinic Coordinators

• Karl E. Fry, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS is a physical therapist with specialized training and experience in working with overhead throwers. He attended the American Sports Medicine Institute's "Injuries in Baseball Course" in Texas. This year he has been invited to speak at the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Annual meeting and the UW Health Sports Medicine Symposium on injury prevention and rehabilitation for baseball pitchers.

 

• Ken Krogman, PT, ATC is a physical therapist with training and experience in working with overhead throwers. He attended the American Sports Medicine Institute's "Injuries in Baseball Course" and was invited to speak to the UW Sports Medicine physician and rehabilitation staff about throwing injuries in adolescent athletes. 

Let Us Know

 

Do you have ideas for helping young pitchers avoid arm injuries? Feel free to drop a comment below and we'll get back to you.