Pleasure and Pain
There is a very popular saying about pleasure and pain. It is a fine line between what some might define as pleasurable one moment and the next moment can be painful. Initially, I think of the movie 50 Shades of Grey where people may think of it in terms of one way but in actuality it is the opposite…..I’ve never seen the movie but have read reviews and though interesting, it probably is not something I would watch.
In sports, you can reach the highest pinnacle of that sport…..winning a Super Bowl, World Championship, or even break a record that hasn’t been broken in years. Only to have a slip up and your sports world comes crumbling down.
As of today, The New York Yankees are waiting with baited breathe on the MRI results of the best pitcher in baseball, Gerrit Cole, who very well might have torn his UCL this spring training. After winning a Cy Young award last season as the best pitcher in the American League last year, his best pitching could be in his rear view mirror just like that. His pleasure and pain is very well defined right now and the Yankees 2024 season hinges upon a healthy Gerrit Cole……by the time you read this, the results should be in.
This time of year is very common for our pitchers to experience that problem in terms of any injury. However, we cannot rush to judgement on the difference between pain, soreness or even fatigue. There are always multiple factors that can contribute to these 3 areas.
Soreness can be defined as a painful product from pitching too much in a game. Soreness is common to all of us who go to the gym after not going for an extended period of time. That first time of lifting weights or machines can produce a fluid in our system that is stretching the muscles (s) too much for the preparation that we undertook in performing a task. We can barely function that muscle because of the soreness we feel. For instance, our chest muscles can be so sore from stretching the muscles beyond it’s current state….we have overstretched the muscle and soreness sets in. The only way to help alleviate that soreness is too ‘suck it up’ and not do that activity again…..or continually ease the muscle back in to a functioning state where we create growth back in the muscle itself.
For pitches who might throw a lot of pitches in a game…..and especially those kids who go to max pitch count in a game….our throwing arm is not in any shape to throw that much. I talk to parents and players all the time about working the throwing arm back into shape like going to the gym several times a week instead maxing out 1 time a week and getting ourselves hurt. A player can overcome soreness by continually stretching, using arm bands and implements to work it back into shape.
Fatigue is just the exhaustion of the muscle in question….in our ballplayers case either the throwing shoulder or maybe the elbow area (though in this case the shoulder or biceps/tricep is the usual recipient). Fatigue occurs due to overuse and almost always can be dealt with by taking a few days off from throwing and allowing the muscles to ‘rest up’.
Pain is the opposite side of fatigue but must be defined as something other than soreness or fatigue. Pain is more of a sharpness in the elbow or shoulder and most elbow issues are more of pain and to what degree of pain.
Pain must be dealt with by seeing an orthopedic doctor if the said pain does not subside after a week or so. If there is pain, then no pitching should occur until it is completely gone because damage and continue to grow to levels where a tear or fracture can occur.
Learning to know if either pain…soreness…..or fatigue has occurred is something only a player and a trained professional (either a doctor, PT or in my instance, myself) who can walk through the process and determine the best route to take.
The best solution to help avoid any of the issues is by throwing multiple times during the week especially before a Rec, Travel, or HS season begins. You only need to pitch 1-2x/week but you can throw every day if you can make that work. Think of pitching and being at your best just a marathon runner goes about training for a 26.2 mile race. 1st week is 2-3 miles, 2nd week is 3-4 miles and continually build up to 20+ miles a week or two before that race. No one would ever train by going out the first day and running 26.2 miles…..besides the absurdity of it you can get hurt running that much so early in training.
Pitching max amount of innings or pitch counts so early in the season is setting one up for an injury later. And yet there are still coaches who allow this to happen. If you understand how important training is before the ‘main event’….pitching the first game of the year…then you can see how necessary it is to development.
It is my goal to help as many people as possible to achieve their goals by constantly training and development and advising on how to go about those goals. I want people to lean on me for advise on how to reach these goals. The last thing needed is short term glory and long term disaster……like they say there is a fine line between pleasure and pain!
Reach out to me today to help assist your son in their goals.
Believe it or not but Summer Training is less than 3 months away and spots for the camp as well as marketing will go out in the next few weeks. This is the best way to ensure continuity in throwing as well as development work in a great atmosphere with like minded players!
Until next time…….
Jim
Jim Wagner's ThrowZone Academy 