Dead Arm

MDBBall Fan,

The term “Dead arm” originated before the turn of the Century when their was no Physiological call out for all of the different injuries that occur from ballistic over head throwing. If you blew up your UCL you had a dead arm, if you tore your Labrum you had a dead arm. This is not the problem; the problem arises from pitchers not being able to train “Sport Specifically” for the activity they perform so they are in a perpetual non Specific proprioceptive training mode. Since the “traditional” pitching motion in all its forms produces many different injuries you cannot train maximally specifically.With the traditional pitching mechanics you are also in a perpetual healing state with a lot of rest time (atrophy) involved. Expect peaks and valleys with regard to maximal effort and injurious effects.

MD,
Welcome to the HSBBW. How old is your son?
The term dead arm today is used when one cannot find anything specifically wrong, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything wrong. Loss of velocity, unable to repeat hs delivery is a sign that there may be a tear, even if there is no pain. Did the doctor give him strengths tests?

You state that your son had an xray. Tears cannot be detected in an xray. Ask for an MRI.

I think TPM has good advice and I have no idea what Yardbird said in his psychobabble.

It is certainly a good idea to shut him down periodically - so just do it now. Rest up, work out and reinvigorate for next season. I have seen great success in Jaeger’s program in building up arm strength so I would continue the band work as part of his weight training, then ramp him up slowly with long toss well in advance of his next season so his arm is strong and healthy prior to the season’s start. Contrary to what (I think) Yardbird said you can train and build up arm/body strength prior to season’s start so he will not have a physical break down next season. (which may or may not be what he is experiencing, which should be confirmed by an MRI)

Thanks for the replies, and I do plan to follow up on the MRI. My son is 15, and the doctor did a strength test, which went fine. How long is a recommended period of time to shut down the throwing before working back up gradually?

I had to read over YB's post a few times.
I do agree that training should be sport specific, pitchers following a whole different routine. I also agree that if the body is not trained specifically over the off season, there can be breakdown later on. AND while your son may still be weight training every other day, weights are often repalced by other activities (like tossing and band work for upper body, etc.) during season.Off season and season should be totally different.

If they don't find anything wrong or specific, good idea to take some time off, let the body recoup, then begin position specific training before season, gradually.

A trainer who works with baseball players may be helpful with the process.

quote:

With the traditional pitching mechanics you are also in a perpetual healing state with a lot of rest time (atrophy) involved. Expect peaks and valleys with regard to maximal effort and injurious effects.

--------Thank you, Dr. Yardbird, M.D. May I ask where your degree in medicine is from? If this is not your original thinking, would you mind telling us whose it is and whether that person has actual medical credentials?

Hi MDBB -- I am not a Dr, Trainer, Physiologist, or Faith Healer, just another Dad/Coach who has tried to learn as much as possible about training youth Pitchers. My son is also 15. My guess is that your son just finished his Freshman year in HS (like mine), and is now playing summer ball. If this is the case, he has probably thrown more this year than he ever has before (daily practices, regular bullpens, more exertion on the mound).

What type of Rehab & Rest routines has he been following? How often has he thrown, and the total workload so far this year?

You say he is long and lean. I have had a number of boys with this body type wear down over the course of the season as 13's, 14's & 15's; to where we chose to shut them down as a precaution.

The MRI advice sounds right -- better safe than sorry. Note -- some injuries/tears don't show up on an MRI. Personally, I would make sure to find an Orthopedic who is tops in shoulders and baseball injuries. Dr. William Hazel (Chantilly, VA) overhauled mine, and is top shelf.

I have become a HUGE beleiver in the concept of "Active Rest." Spending 4-6 weeks at a time doing nothing baseball related (throwing/hitting); where the player simply does functional fitness & strength training. We try to have that be August to September and November to December for my son.

You might want to consider moving your son into an Active Rest mode now. We did that with a long/lean 14U player I was Coaching last July, and he had bounced back by the Fall -- and played Varisty ball this year as a Freshman. His folks also took him to Doc Hazel to have him checked out, and he found nothing wrong.

Take this for what it's worth, from a guy from across the bridge in VA who has spent a lot of time in recent years with guys like your son. I hope you find something helpful in these thoughts.

quote:

Originally posted by MDBBall Fan:
Thanks for the replies, and I do plan to follow up on the MRI. My son is 15, and the doctor did a strength test, which went fine. How long is a recommended period of time to shut down the throwing before working back up gradually?

It is a good idea for pitchers in particular to shut down for 3 months with no throwing. So if you started now you would be July Aug Sept or longer depending on other sports etc. He could play fall ball but I would not have him pitch.

My son is also 15 and just came off his freshman season. He was their number 1 and pitched 66 innings and had a rock solid arm. He does, however, have a very meticulous program he follows. Others may have different advice but this is how he prepared and worked during the season.

3 months to season start he started easy throwing.
After a week or two we went to 2 x per week long toss.
After a month (+/-) we went to 3 x per week and added in one bullpen per week
We did this until 3-4 weeks until season started and then he went to 5 days per week long toss with one or two bullpens.
In season every day he practiced or played he long tossed. (usually 6 days at season start)

Very specifically he used the Jaeger program and bands. I won’t go into the too many details but he NEVER picked up a baseball until he ran and warmed up his body, (light sweat) did full set of arm circles and full band work out) He did a Jaeger long toss prior to every start without the “pull down part”.

After every game he pitched he would do his bands (particularly working the decelerator muscles (reverse arm movement) and would run 2-3 miles and work up a good sweat. He never used ice.

Day after pitching he would do a very light long toss and then after day 2 back to his full routine. His bullpens were always at least two days after pitching. Prior to his next start we kept one day away from his bullpen. He was on a pitch count, but could usually finish a game under 100 pitches. (first pitch strikes..... ...but this is for another thread)

I should also note that it was not easy keeping on schedule as he was playing basketball just prior to the baseball season and we had to work around his basketball games and practices. We tried to stay on schedule but moved stuff around did the best we could. Once baseball season started he also found he had to get to practice early to get through his full routine and be ready with the rest of the team. He will need to find a buddy who is as dedicated as 90% of the kids will not have the kind of diligence needed to do this every time.

Good Luck!

Thank you for the advice. My son did lots of throwing this past year as it was his first year playing on his HS team, so as rugger5 suggests this may have worn him down. He has stopped playing baseball for the Summer and may not play this Fall, depending on how his strength training and conditioning goes.

Very helpful to hear the routines of others. With my son's long, lean built he may need more time adding strength and recuperating than we've realized.