Shoulder Injuries in the Overhead Athlete
Written by Dr. Jordan Hirae
Shoulder injuries are the most common injury seen with throwing athletes. In fact, a study reports shoulder injuries account for approximately one-third of all injuries in baseball. So why is the shoulder so commonly injured amongst throwing athletes? What are you missing in your training program to prevent injury?
Training program for Shoulder Injuries
The rotator cuff is becoming an increasingly popular target muscle group amongst throwing athletes. The rotator cuff is a group of 4 muscles composed of: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis. The rotator cuff is integral with the joint capsule of the shoulder, which helps promote stability. This is a crucial component for throwing athletes because of the violent action and speed at which the arm moves. Exercises such as banded external rotation and internal rotation have been a staple for this population for injury prevention. According to this study, side-lying external rotation recorded the highest EMG activity for isolated activation of both teres minor and infraspinatus. However, as a throwing athlete, the demand for stability of the shoulder is much greater than 3 sets of 15 reps with a resistance band. Here at PhysioStrength, we believe that the work load and intensity of exercises should match the specific demands of the athlete. See our instagram post below for 6 exercises to bulletproof your shoulders.
Load Management for Shoulder Injuries
Another big key component in shoulder injury prevention for the throwing athlete is load management. Throwing is a repetitive motion that places a lot of responsibility on the rotator cuff and scapular musculature to slow down the velocity of the arm after the ball is released. In fact, research indicates internal rotation velocity of the glenohumeral joint was measured up to 7500 degrees/sec, which is equivalent to car tires rotating at 96 mph! That being said, it is crucial to have a throwing program to meet the workload and demands of throwing. To our current knowledge, there is no current evidence that supports one throwing program to be superior to another. However, we believe that one should engage in a progressive interval-throwing program to prepare the shoulder for the physical demands and repetitive stresses involved with throwing. Below you will find some links to interval throwing programs that we like to utilize.