Eclipse Wellness

Baseball pitchers - if you are recovering from an injury, don’t forget to be an athlete!

Most baseball players I see after an injury think that they need to work harder on their mechanics. That could be part of the solution, but it isn’t the whole solution. In all likelihood, you become so focused on your mechanics that you lose the feel of what makes you you.

Take some time during your rehab to make some athletic throws. Do a proper warm up and then let it rip from shortstop. Work some backhands, field some slow rollers, go crazy and see how you feel. Having the external target of catching a ball and throwing it to get a runner out can do wonders for getting you out of your head. You may even discover some new thoughts that make sense for you as a thrower!

Here are some of my favorite exercises if you are dealing with back pain when you are bending forward.

I would use these if my back pain was a 5/10 or less. In my experience, people with mild to moderate pain benefit from a gradual load in the painful direction.

Starting out in unloaded positions like lying down or on your hands and knees is an easy way to introduce these movements in a non-threatening way. Focus on deep breathing and maximizing your low back mobility before gradually adding more load.

If you are dealing with 6/10 pain or more, you might benefit from avoiding bending for the time being to allow your body to heal. That might mean avoiding prolonged sitting or sleeping on your side.

I posted a YouTube video and wrote a blog about back pain with bending forward and whether sitting actually causes back pain. I take you through my rationale and some exercises and lifestyle strategies to implement if you are dealing with back pain!

Baseball players - if you are losing power at the plate, it might be due to your shoulder mobility.

We often focus on the hip side of hip-shoulder separation. However, you need adequate shoulder mobility to maintain tension when you swing. Try this test to see if your back shoulder mobility is limiting your hitting power!

If your back shoulder is tight, try some pecs or biceps stretching to loosen it up. This will help keep that hip-shoulder separation and improve your power at the plate!