Changed slot...

you need to shut it down immediately and see a good orthopedic dr. you can have anything from instability of shoulder or rotator cuff tendinitis, partial tear or labrum issues. most posterior (back) shoulder pain is caused by sick scapula or/and glenoid internal rotation defeciency. You could have both which can lead to a slap tear of the labrum...thats why you need to see a dr immediately. Pain is your body telling you to shut it down

Throw90+,

quote:

“I used to be a sidearm pitcher due to an injury a few years back that put alot of stress on my shoulder.”

Are you saying here you injured your arm throwing sidearm?

quote:

“My new pitching coach in college saw that I have quick arm speed and believes I should be throwing 3/4 instead to get a 90+ fastball that he thinks I should have”

You can throw 88-89 from down there? That sounds like nasty stuff, one of the greatest pitchers of all time (maybe #1) Walter Johnson threw from down there.

quote:

“After a month my shoulder feels horrible everyday and I have done everything”

Try getting your Humerus higher during drive, your coach will think it’s ¾.

quote:

“band exercised to jobes dumbell workouts”

Just as many before you that have injurious mechanics and now some of your talent and most your strength are designed to perform band exercises and dumbbell workouts. Try a “sport specific interval training program”

quote:

.” I'm not sure if this pain is due to using new muscles”

You are defiantly using different muscles that have not been given a chance to make the physiological adjustment, there is no way you can change mechanics and perform in competition immediately especially injurious mechanics.

quote:

“When I threw sidearm I was mainly 85-87 topping 88-89 without pain but had some control issues.”

This is where it gets confusing? If you had no pain how did the injury happen?
Were you side arm or ¾ here?

quote:

“What should I do?”

All over stress injuries to pitchers are mechanically oriented and fixed.

If you are going to continue with your northern movement in mechanics you better get it up even higher because 7/8 and down arm slots are where all of the traditional elbow and shoulder injuries are manifested from.

If you perform Humeral lag at initial forward force application (elbow trailing your shoulder line) you will have pain in the front and to the side (delts and R.cuff) Check your game or bullpen video!!?
To fix this problem you need to lock your Humerus in line with your chest at initial forward force application and turn the inside of your elbow up right at this point also then drive your elbow and shoulders together rotating 180 degrees instead of 90 to 100..
This will allow you to get into position to safely decelerate your arm straight out pronated more (rather than arm across your chest) which alleviates the other shoulder problems caused from deceleration where the pain will come at the upper back and shoulder.
You will find that all unnecessary stress then pain to the shoulder area will disappear.
If you are injured? The only way you’ll know is with an MRI, you will then need your Dr.’s release to continue. If you are just getting sore and are still playing and throwing you better change those mechanics that are causing your problems. If you shut it down nothing will be rectified and you will atrophy very quickly, then have to get back in shape before going all out again and then still have to change your mechanics anyway.

The only good advice on this board for this type of issue is to see a Dr and stop throwing until you have it figured out. Make sure you have a reputable pitching coach.

quote:

If you are going to continue with your northern movement in mechanics you better get it up even higher because 7/8 and down arm slots are where all of the traditional elbow and shoulder injuries are manifested from.

What you just described basically covers almost every pitcher out there. Only a very few minority actually pitch higher than 7/8. Wouldn't that be like 11:00 and higher? I thought 3/4 arm slot covers everything between 9:00-11:00?


Isn't it true that pitchers release the ball with a pretty much 90 degree angle between their torso and arm. How does changing the arm slot change anything besides changing the angle of the torso? Seems to be more of a timing issue more than anything.

i agree with lowfog, but i also think you should get it checked out and go back to throwing side arm. everyteam needs a side arm/ low delivery guy especially if you get goo movement on velocity like that

Thanks all for the help. I am going to a doctor on tuesday to get my arm checked out. What do I do though when I come back? I have to throw low sidearm because thats where my arm doesnt hurt but my pitching coach wants nothing to do with me when I throw that way. He threw in the minors for a few years overhand and beleives in nothing but overhand motions so he refused to help me while I throw sidearm.

quote:

Originally posted by Throw90+:
Thanks all for the help. I am going to a doctor on tuesday to get my arm checked out. What do I do though when I come back? I have to throw low sidearm because thats where my arm doesnt hurt but my pitching coach wants nothing to do with me when I throw that way. He threw in the minors for a few years overhand and beleives in nothing but overhand motions so he refused to help me while I throw sidearm.

Your coach sounds ignorant. There is nothing wrong with sidearm...

A few of the high schools around here like to throw a sidewinder to eat up middle innings, then bring in a hard thrower to close.

I know a coach that loves converting marginally effective pitchers to sidearm throwers.

Well said, Deemax.

90+, ask your coach (politely) if he's ever seen video of Dennis Eckersley, Walter (Big Train) Johnson, Dizzy Dean, or Carl Hubbell pitching. These guys all pitched sidearm and they did pretty well.

Side-armer Walter Johnson was the most feared pitcher of his generation and he won more than 400 games in 21 years playing for Washington Senators teams that were usually terrible.

If a guy's pitching delivery has mechanical flaws in it that hinder his ability to consistently command location and throw strikes, it doesn't really matter what his arm angle at release is...but some coaches just tend to see everything in terms of their own preferred arm-slot. The danger of that is, real flaws can go undetected and uncorrected while coach is attempting to get everyone to conform to a single-minded, limited vision about arm-slot.

If you really look into it, every conceivable release point arm-angle has been used successfully at MLB level of competition. A wise coach would recognize that having a variety of arm-angles on his pitching staff can give the hitters more to think about--that's a good thing, not a bad thing (as long as they are all competent pitchers).

I spoke with my coach in the fall reguarding this. He asked me why I threw sidearm and I told him when I throw overhand my shoulder becomes real sore and eventually with time my arm hurts to much to do it. He took it as I was unwilling to change. I complied with him and threw low 3/4 just to see mound time and within a month my arm was shot like I said it would be and when I approached him to tell him I could not throw anymore he said I hurt myself and I was just looking to blame someone else.

quote:

Originally posted by MTS:
I know a coach that loves converting marginally effective pitchers to sidearm throwers.

Quite a few MLB teams do the same thing.