Arm sorenss.....

What did he do to prepare himself to pitch yesterday?

Probably not enough. Played catch about two hours before, than catch for 5 more minutes than pitched 10 to 15 in the bullpen before coming in.

So your son did nothing during six weeks prior to prepare himself  for an outing?

No, long toss during that period

Should have done a few bullpens.

You can give him Aleve or Advil,  use ice, or maybe biofreeze.  

There are others here who could advise, but best to find a pitching coach, or trainer to get him better prepared.

I’m not a coach or pitching wizard, but my son would get bicep tendinitis occasionally and it was typically from overuse. Rest was the primary remedy. Staying active as TPM mentions with bullpens is a solid plan to prepare the ole wing for outings etc. I’m sure you’ll get some super advice more specific than what I’ve given. I think he’ll be fine.

one of the common misconceptions about pitching is how you rest.  Rest does not mean do nothing.  It is referred to as active rest, what is the arm care regimen when not pitching.  Your post was not specific, but sounds like he took six weeks off?  That much down time will lead to problems if he throws remotely hard.

Acute injuries usually do best with cryotherapy ( cold packs) . 20 minutes on , 20 minutes off -for a few times is often recommended. Ibuprofen, is usually best for muscle inflammation. Rest for a day or more, then some gentle stretches, gradually building up the intensity. i usually don't recommend heat therapy until a week or more after the injury and almost never if there is any sign of swelling. These are just general recommendations. A good trainer or physical therapist can be of more assistance.

So, first things first, this is not specific medical advice, I don't know your son, haven't evaluated him or anything, so if you have any concerns to the level of, "I think this should get looked at," then it would be best to get him examined.

So you say, "My son had not pitched in about 6 weeks and threw about 30 pitches yesterday and developed soreness (maybe tendonitis) in the bicep."

Then TPM asked Nothing nothing? and you said that no, he did some long toss during that period.

I don't know his age, his experience level, how long he's been pitching, but I do know that current recommendation is a minimum of 8 weeks, with some going at least 12-16 weeks off of pitching a year.

Getting more towards your question. It may help to think of this scenario as, "I haven't shoveled snow in a long time, I went to shovel snow the other day, now I'm sore." or "It's spring time, I haven't worked in the garden for a few months, now I'm sore." or "I haven't ran in awhile, I ran yesterday, now I'm sore."

To address that in the future, low intensity (meaning do not be close to 100% [game-type] intensity) and low volume to start with, then gradually build it back up can help with that. Soreness and pain does not always mean damage, there's other factors involved that can cause pain (haven't done it for awhile, too much too fast too soon), stress, and sleep can all contribute to making you less resilient.

Ice, heat, stretching, none of that will objectively make recovery any faster. But if they're something he enjoys and it makes him feel better, he can definitely do it. He just doesn't have to do it. I'd check the big boxes off first, eat well, get plenty of sleep, and then gradually get back into it. Throw with plenty of breaks. Don't throw 30 pitches in 10 minutes. That helps nothing. Throw 5-6 pitches, take a minute or two break. Maybe three. Then throw another 5-6 pitches. As he gets back into it, maybe it's 8-9-10 pitches and then a break.

As for strengthening exercises, there's a lot of things he can do. If he's in high school they should have someone there to at least point him in the right direction. If he's new-ish to it, there's no point in loading up as heavy weight as possible. Get familiar with the exercises, build up capacity (meaning don't push right away close to fatigue), then start to build in strength, then power.

To clarify that last point. Both you and your son will hear at least three things: hypertrophy (building muscle), strength (how much force you can move), and power (how fast you can move a force [time component]). These are not the same, but can have some overlap. Being strong and powerful can help in minimizing risk of injury and performance gains on the field, but to take it back to the original point, if you haven't done something for awhile, you want to gradually build back into it.

When my son takes 6-8 weeks off, he still does band work, weighted balls, etc.  When he starts to throw again, he ramps back up over several weeks.  Doing nothing and then just jumping back in is a quick way to injury.

@XFactor posted:

So, first things first, this is not specific medical advice, I don't know your son, haven't evaluated him or anything, so if you have any concerns to the level of, "I think this should get looked at," then it would be best to get him examined.

So you say, "My son had not pitched in about 6 weeks and threw about 30 pitches yesterday and developed soreness (maybe tendonitis) in the bicep."

Then TPM asked Nothing nothing? and you said that no, he did some long toss during that period.

I don't know his age, his experience level, how long he's been pitching, but I do know that current recommendation is a minimum of 8 weeks, with some going at least 12-16 weeks off of pitching a year.

Getting more towards your question. It may help to think of this scenario as, "I haven't shoveled snow in a long time, I went to shovel snow the other day, now I'm sore." or "It's spring time, I haven't worked in the garden for a few months, now I'm sore." or "I haven't ran in awhile, I ran yesterday, now I'm sore."

To address that in the future, low intensity (meaning do not be close to 100% [game-type] intensity) and low volume to start with, then gradually build it back up can help with that. Soreness and pain does not always mean damage, there's other factors involved that can cause pain (haven't done it for awhile, too much too fast too soon), stress, and sleep can all contribute to making you less resilient.

Ice, heat, stretching, none of that will objectively make recovery any faster. But if they're something he enjoys and it makes him feel better, he can definitely do it. He just doesn't have to do it. I'd check the big boxes off first, eat well, get plenty of sleep, and then gradually get back into it. Throw with plenty of breaks. Don't throw 30 pitches in 10 minutes. That helps nothing. Throw 5-6 pitches, take a minute or two break. Maybe three. Then throw another 5-6 pitches. As he gets back into it, maybe it's 8-9-10 pitches and then a break.

As for strengthening exercises, there's a lot of things he can do. If he's in high school they should have someone there to at least point him in the right direction. If he's new-ish to it, there's no point in loading up as heavy weight as possible. Get familiar with the exercises, build up capacity (meaning don't push right away close to fatigue), then start to build in strength, then power.

To clarify that last point. Both you and your son will hear at least three things: hypertrophy (building muscle), strength (how much force you can move), and power (how fast you can move a force [time component]). These are not the same, but can have some overlap. Being strong and powerful can help in minimizing risk of injury and performance gains on the field, but to take it back to the original point, if you haven't done something for awhile, you want to gradually build back into it.

 

 

Nice post thank you. I have suggested to the OP for son to see a doctor if he feels necessary.