| Boys and men across the world follow their passion | | | | management is concerned about protecting their |
| for the great sport of baseball. A percentage of them | | | | investments and keeping their players from getting |
| become pitchers. | | | | injured. |
| From the professional leagues all the way down to little | | | | Ideally pitchers should pay as much attention to the |
| league sports, pitchers deal with their greatest | | | | health of their arms as they do to their ability to get a |
| nightmare, shoulder and arm injury, on a daily basis. | | | | baseball over the plate. But like all humans, they mostly |
| It's not such a problem for kids, even through high | | | | ignore it until it's such a problem they can't avoid it |
| school. Their youth pretty much eliminates any serious | | | | anymore. |
| complaint through there are plenty of cases that point | | | | Then they turn to their team's medical staff that puts |
| to injury being more of a problem than is reported. | | | | them through the usual rounds of rest, |
| In college, the minor leagues, and at the professional | | | | anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroid shots, and in the |
| level, there is a complex and significant process in | | | | end, surgery. It surprises me that not a single |
| place designed to keep the arms of pitchers safe and | | | | professional baseball team has figured out how to |
| healthy. | | | | keep their pitchers injury free. It's not rocket science. |
| Let's focus on professional baseball for the moment. | | | | Pitchers consistently have tendonitis related issues in |
| If you scan the national sports news, every day you | | | | their arms. It's the name of the game when a human |
| see stories and reports about pitchers from a variety | | | | uses their arm like pitchers do. A pitcher's arm is his |
| of teams either sitting out games or heading to | | | | primary tool. Losing accuracy, speed, active use of the |
| surgery due to tendonitis issues in the shoulder, | | | | arm, and ultimately their career, is a constant concern |
| forearm, wrist and hand. There is much contemplation, | | | | and fear that pitchers must deal with. |
| debate, and gossip about whether any particular | | | | Imagine the heat break a pitcher must feel when his |
| pitcher is 'over' an injury, throwing poorly because of | | | | career is ended due to Tendonitis. Imagine the end of |
| one, or is in the line up or not due to injury or potential | | | | multi-million dollar contracts and not being able to play |
| injury. | | | | the game anymore. It's a nightmare scenario. And a |
| Even fantasy baseball league fans place a keen eye | | | | real one, that comes on slowly over time and pitches |
| on injuries new and old when prospecting which | | | | thrown. |
| pitchers are liable to have a good season or not. | | | | It doesn't have to be a nightmare. The onset of |
| Every team has rules about how to keep a pitcher | | | | Tendonitis follows a specific pattern. Understanding this |
| safe. This includes limiting how many games a pitcher | | | | pattern allows for the reversal of this pattern. Like I |
| can throw in, and how many pitches he can throw in a | | | | said, keeping a pitcher's arm healthy isn't rocket |
| game, series of games, and season. While it may | | | | science. |
| differ from team to team, overall every team's | | | | |