Icing in PRE-High School...Really????

Nice stuff by Kyle.

I like him, he makes it very simple and easy to understand how it works.

 

Yup, there are plenty of youth pitcher,catchers who have very painful/sore arms, I think that was my point in pitching injury topic. Most of it is overuse and poor mechanics. Being sore is NOT UNUSUAL, having pain is.  The problem is that parents dont know the difference so they allow their players a few days rest and then back on the mound without ever figuring out what is going on. They think it will go away with some ice and some otc drugs.

 

Mine started pitching at an early age and they iced back then all of the time. I am not sure exactly of the benefits, but he iced all of his life until he stopped he developed some shoulder issues. My opinion.

Also giving a young child medication is not a good practice.  Save that for someday when he really needs it.

Kevin O'Sullivan told me once that he lets pitchers do what makes them comfortable. I guess that is the key, everyone is different.

 

CaCO3girl,

If you are getting this info from a post, how do you know if the players throws enough

or not?

So you are saying that pitching in a game one day and then catching the next or playing ss is good. Its not about how much you throw or dont throw but the preparation and the frequency.

Don't confuse tossing with throwing. And don't confuse a loose arm by describing it as rubber. Not all kids have loose arms.

I don't know if this relates to icing arms or shoulders in baseball but a few years ago at about age 45 I severely sprained my ankle playing basketball to the point I had to be carried to a car for my wife to take me home. I had been playing for about an hour so I had a good workout.

The HS basketball coach who was there told me to submerge my ankle in ice for 10-15 minutes immediately upon arriving home in about 4 sessions with about 10 minutes between sessions.  I did this that evening and then next morning. 

I was playing within a week and a half with no pain. . 

You always use ice after a sprain. RICE..rest, ice, compression then elevation.
In the case in the OP, if there is soreness or pain than ice may be helpful. For  young pitchers that throw too hard, their first few outings should be closely monitored by the coach as to not over do it.  Thats only if he knows what he is doing.

FWIW I was referring to lions injury (RICE). 
I cant endorse if it would or would not help a 12 year old's severe arm pain.  I have always found ice helps reduce inflammation but should be applied asap after an injury.

I have no idea if the player in the post throws enough or not...but at age 12 I can only assume that he is either not conditioned or not doing it right to be sore and needing ice.

 

As for my rubber comment, I was referring to all youth in general. Their bodies bounce back far quicker when they are young, and things that would land an adult in the hospital for weeks they just pop up and say "I'm okay!"  Of course children can get broken arms and they can get hurt, but having multiple 12 year old's on one team asking for ice because their arm hurts/is sore...doesn't sound normal to me.

Nothing wrong with ice, but you should combine it with heat (unless you have an injury like a sprain or bruising).  The normal body reaction to healing from injury is to swell and immobilize.  Taking anti inflammatory medicine, may help with pain and keep swelling down a bit, but inhibits the natural healing process from starting.  Ice will restrict blood flow, heat will promote blood flow.  Restriction squeezes out waste, heat brings in nutrients.  A combination of the two will assist in recovery. If you have too much swelling from a sprain, blood flow can be naturally restricted and the healing process can take longer.  That is why with sprains, you should ice immediately, take anti-inflammatory medicine, and immobilize the joint artificially.  Once the swelling has stopped, you treat with ice and heat to speed the healing process.  If your child has arm or shoulder pain, he should run after his games and treat with ice / heat, no anti inflammatory medicines.  If he is still sore for his next game, he should not throw.  Video his mechanics and have someone review.

Here's another option:

http://marcpro.com/

 

It's not for everybody. For beginners, it's pricey. However, we just started using on for my son and he has been absolutely amazed at the effects. Disclaimer' he REALLY didn't want to use it at first. I mean REALLY didn't want to use it. But, after committing $600 I wasn't taking no for an answer.

I am not sure how one can assume anything without knowing the player but this is why I posted about injuries. Parents do your due diligence when you have control over the situation. I agree NO 12 year old should be experiencing any type of pain in any sport, but they do, because parents just cant have them not be in the game, because they are afraid they will miss out on something.

My daughters BF son age 12, had bad knee issues and not able to do anything for 2 months. Dad just thought playing football and lax at the same time was a good thing. It was 5 -6 days a week of either games or practice.  Because he has growth issues to begin with, he ended up with a serious issue. 

Not agreeing that all kids bounce back from injuries.  Lots of it depends on growth issues, those injuries showing up later many times are from youth issues never properly addressed.

 

Do people really think that things like this make better athletes?

I balked at a glove that cost more than $100, I don't think I am ready to get into gadgets like this yet.

This doesn't make you a better athlete, that's not its purpose. It's purpose is for more efficient and quicker recovery times which lead to lesser risk of injury. It's endorsed by a number of reputable sources including Kyle.

Honestly, do some research on it. If it does even a quarter of what people claim, it's a long term investment with a big upside.

Healthier athletes? Yes. Well, maybe (I took the risk but haven't had it long enough to draw a conclusion). Do you really think it can't help?

Its an electric stim machine and you can buy one for less than 100 dollars. They use them for therapy upon doctors or trainers orders and yes many do after pitching especially when you throw mid to high 90's and sore afterwards.

 

But someone came up with the idea to make it look fancier so you would think it does more than just a plain black one!

 

Your 12 year old doesnt need expensive things make you a better athlete! Don't drink the koolaid!!!

 

 

The glove wasn't much over $100 :-)  Other kids have $300+ gloves.  Still keeping my head down and NOT drinking the kool-aid...much....but the old glove did break.

Wrong. You're describing a TENS machine which helps for pain, but does nothing for decreasing the effects of muscle fatigue or creating bloodflow. You probably shouldn'd comment on things you don't know anything about.

And my kid isn't 12.

In fact, note that it is used by 28 MLB teams and endorsed publicly by many of them. Sorry about the last comment.

Endorsed? Used?  Not! Because they endorse it means you should use it? They endorse lots of products!! They get paid to do that!!!!

Sorry, its a fancy TENS machine!!

 

http://rightdoorproductions.com/portfolio/marc-pro/

 

Detroit Tigers for one, discuss its use here. Do you even investigate anything before you post? I'll be honest. You provide some good information in about 10% of your posts, but I get a little weary of your "holier-than-thou attitude" and the idea based on the success of your son that there are no experiences or knowledge beyond what's in your own world. I, personally don't post info like I have here (and certainly don't spend my money) without doing my research and talking with people who have experience with the product. Before buying this, I communicated with Kyle at Driveline, I spoke to several professional cyclists. You, on the other hand, just spouted out an ignorant opinion without any research or fact checking. But, that's what you get on the internet, Iguess.