Sports Injuries

Softball and baseball require running, jumping, throwing, and swinging movements. Even for the fittest athletes and weekend warriors, the body and the neuromusculoskeletal system will go through overuse injuries, throwing-related injuries, sliding injuries, falls, collisions, and getting hit by the ball. Chiropractic and physical therapy can assist athletes by integrating strength training, body realignment, and rehabilitation injury recovery.

Softball and Baseball Injuries

Baseball and softball injuries are generally defined as either acute/traumatic or cumulative/overuse injuries. Both types can occur in various body areas, for example, a knee injury caused by a fall or quick repositioning shift.

Acute/Traumatic

• Injuries occur from traumatic force or impact.

Overuse/Cumulative

• These occur over time from repeated stress on the muscles, joints, and soft tissues.
• Often athletes return too soon to play, not giving the injury enough time to heal fully.
• They begin as small aches and pains that can progress into chronic conditions if not treated.

Shoulder

Shoulder overuse injuries are very common. Constantly performing the throwing movements and high-speed throwing strains the joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

• In softball, bicep injuries are more common than shoulder injuries.
• In baseball, the overhead throwing position leads to shoulder problems.

Frozen Shoulder

• Characterized by a restricted range of motion and pain.
• Athletes with frequent shoulder injuries have an increased risk.

Shoulder Instability

• Softball and baseball players are more susceptible to injury from overhead throwing, which stretches the shoulder capsule and ligaments.
• Shoulder instability can lead to loose joints and dislocation.

Shoulder Separation

• This is the tearing of the ligaments that connect the shoulder blade to the collarbone.
• This is often a traumatic injury that occurs during a collision or fall with outstretched hands.

Shoulder Tendinitis, Bursitis, and Impingement Syndrome

• These are overuse injuries in which the shoulder joint becomes inflamed, restricting movement.

Torn Rotator Cuff

• The rotator cuff tendons develop tears from overuse.

Elbow

Elbow injuries are very common, especially damage to the ulnar collateral ligament, which stabilizes the elbow when pitching and throwing.

• Pitchers can also develop elbow sprains.
• Damage or tear to the ulnar collateral ligament
• Damage often is caused by pitchers throwing too much.

Bursitis

• This is inflammation of the joint sac.

Little League Elbow

• This is an injury to the growth plate on the inside of the elbow.
• It can be caused by the wrist flexors pulling on the inside.
• It is typically attributed to overuse and improper mechanics when throwing.

Tennis Elbow

• This overuse injury on the outside of the elbow makes it difficult to lift or grasp objects.

Hand and Wrist

Softball and baseball can cause hand and wrist injuries from catching, colliding, falling, and overuse. Damage to a hand or wrist is typically caused by repetitive stress and/or a sudden impact.

Finger Fractures

• These can be caused by impact on the ball or falls.
• This can happen during contact with another player or diving for a ball and hitting the ground hard or at an awkward angle.

Sprains

• A fall or impact from the ball or another player can cause these.

Tendinitis

• This is an overuse injury, often from pitching and/or throwing.

Back

• Catchers are especially prone to back injury because of the crouched position and overhead throwing.
• Softball pitchers also experience back strain from the windmill pitching action.
• Common conditions include chronic muscle strains, herniated discs, low back issues, sciatica symptoms, and pain.

Knee

Softball and baseball players quickly twist or rotate their knees, making them more susceptible to injuries. Sprains, meniscus tears, ACL tears, and hamstring strains are common.

• Aggressive twisting and pivoting can cause swelling, stiffness, and pain.
• Running and sudden changes in direction can result in acute knee injuries and overuse injuries.
• Knee issues require examination for proper diagnosis.
• Other common injuries include ankle sprains, stress fractures, and tendonitis in the foot and ankle.

Chiropractic

Chiropractors work with a massage therapy team to treat various musculoskeletal conditions. Chiropractic specializes in spinal adjustments and other treatments, including joint manipulation, myofascial release, MET techniques, trigger point therapy, and electrical stimulation. It encourages expedited recovery for sports-related injuries because instead of focusing on just the injuries, chiropractic assesses the mechanics of the whole body through proper alignment and release of constricted tissues. Adjustments of the spine and extremities allow the body to realign for better overall functionality, reduce pressure, improve blood circulation, and reduce inflammation to promote increased and thorough healing.

Improving Athletic Performance Through Chiropractic

General Disclaimer *

The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make healthcare decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified healthcare professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from various disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and directly or indirectly support our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has reasonably attempted to provide supportive citations and identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.

We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, don't hesitate to get in touch with Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

Licensed in: Texas & New Mexico*

References

Greiner, Justin J et al. “Pitching Behaviors in Youth Fast-Pitched Softball: High Pitching Volumes With Unequal Pitch Counts Among Pitchers are Common.” Journal of pediatric orthopedics vol. 42,7 (2022): e747-e752. doi:10.1097/BPO.0000000000002182

Janda, David H. “The prevention of baseball and softball injuries.” Clinical orthopedics and related research,409 (2003): 20-8. doi:10.1097/01.blo.0000057789.10364.e3

Shanley, Ellen, and Chuck Thigpen. “Throwing injuries in the adolescent athlete.” International Journal of sports physical therapy vol. 8,5 (2013): 630-40.

Shanley, Ellen, et al. “Incidence of injuries in high school softball and baseball players.” Journal of athletic training vol. 46,6 (2011): 648-54. doi:10.4085/1062-6050-46.6.648

Trehan, Samir K, and Andrew J Weiland. “Baseball and softball injuries: elbow, wrist, and hand.” The Journal of hand surgery vol. 40,4 (2015): 826-30. doi:10.1016/j.jhsa.2014.11.024

Wang, Quincy. “Baseball and softball injuries.” Current sports medicine reports vol. 5,3 (2006): 115-9. doi:10.1097/01.csmr.0000306299.95448.cd

Zaremski, Jason L et al. “Sport Specialization and Overuse Injuries in Adolescent Throwing Athletes: A Narrative Review.” Journal of athletic training vol. 54,10 (2019): 1030-1039. doi:10.4085/1062-6050-333-18

Concussions are a fairly common injury in the world of sports medicine. As hard as it might be to admit it, the CDC reported 1.7 million concussions within the U.S. population last year. Furthermore, this type of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is not exclusively seen in sports medicine. All the population can be exposed to this, and 90% of concussion patients have a resolution of symptoms after four weeks. Nevertheless, the remaining debilitating post-concussion symptoms can lead to neurodegenerative consequences later in life. Nowadays, integrating an anti-inflammatory nutritional approach after a concussion is integral to preventing post-concussion syndrome (PCS).

Sometime after Kyle Gibson starts for the Twins in their home opener Monday afternoon, the durable young right-hander will connect with perhaps the most important member of his support team this year: his Chiropractor.

Gibson is still just 28, smack in the prime of his career, but there were times during the second half last season when his lower back started to bark at him. In early August in Toronto, for instance, he was shelled for eight earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings.

“I had a problem in Toronto,” Gibson said.

“There were a couple starts where I didn’t sit down in between innings,” Gibson said, “because if I sat down, my hips just got tight.”

Meanwhile, fellow Twins pitcher Trevor May, 26, was dealing with lower back issues of his own. In May’s case, the additional pounding of making multiple relief appearances without much recovery time had caused issues with the hip and lower-back area of his left (landing) leg, as well.

May’s physical woes left him unavailable for days at a time while the Twins chased their first postseason berth since 2010. Massage and electronic stimulation could only do so much to keep May on the mound.

A few sporadic sessions with a chiropractor didn’t provide immediate results, so May discontinued them.

Upon returning to Seattle this offseason, the yoga devotee decided to up the ante and visit a chiropractor weekly for hour-long sessions. This time, he began to see the benefits.

“A couple weeks before spring training, I felt it coming on a little bit again,” May said. “I was like, what is going on? I got it adjusted and my chiropractor said, ‘Man, you are way, way out of whack.’ He explained to me where my pain was and why the hip was pressing against where it was and if we get that moved back, just lengthened out, it’s going to be really sore for a few weeks, but then it’s just going to go back to normal.”

OVERCOMING FEARS

In 2014, his first full season in the majors, Gibson saw a chiropractor a few times at the recommendation of Twins closer Glen Perkins.

Gibson missed a start in late July after getting shelled at home for six earned runs against the Tampa Bay Rays.

“One of Perk’s guys came in and adjusted me,” recalled Gibson, who threw seven shutout innings at Kansas City his next time out.

That never led to a regular appointment, partly because of Gibson’s relative youth but also because of a long-held fear of what a chiropractor might do to a young athlete’s spine.

“My view of them was, ‘OK, I want you to lay on a table and I’m going to pop your back and you can come back in a week,’ ” Gibson said. “Once you start doing it, you’ve got to keep doing it the rest of your life. That was my view.”

A conversation with May early in spring training this year left him more open to chiropractic manipulation.

Hoping to build on the gains of a breakthrough 2015 but still bothered by soreness in his lower back, Gibson asked May for feedback on his chiropractor. May, who by then was going once at week to Darin Stokke at Lifestyles Chiropractic, had nothing but good things to say about the sessions.

“We found that baseball players get skeletally out of line,” May said. “They do one motion one way much harder (than most people), and my hips were really, really out of line. Seeing a chiropractor consistently has helped me make sure I’m getting readjusted and staying in line as much as possible.”

While initially there was some concern that the bullpen simply did not agree with May’s back, his chiropractic sessions convinced him (and the Twins) that he could manage the additional workload with proper preparation.

What derailed him in September 2015, as it turns out, was a problem with the set joint, where the left hip and lower back meet.

“It was all muscular,” May said. “It was just because one hip was closer to the spine than the other side. The other side was normal. (The left side) was just pressing so much and you get so much inflammation. It was just a perfect storm. It was just a little extra torque being in the ‘pen. That’s why it was bothering me. Now I’m on top of it.”

As May explained it to Gibson, realignment of the spine would allow the overtaxed areas of a pitcher’s core to meet the challenge of persistent pounding.

“Letting those muscles unflare and then heal and rebuild them back to where they’re supposed to be, that’s what we’re doing,” May said.

After doing some “normal treatment stuff” as a warmup, Stokke would check May’s alignment much the way a tire installer might need to check an automobile before sending it back out into traffic.

“He checks where you legs are,” May said. “If he sees you’re out of line, he puts you back in line, and the next day I try to do some exercises and heavy strength stuff, just to build those muscles back up. I’m seeing soreness go and I feel more in line and healthier.”

BELIEF SYSTEM

Despite taking the loss in his season debut in Baltimore, Gibson reports much the same results from his twice-weekly chiropractic sessions this spring.

“Toward the beginning of spring training my back started getting sore again,” Gibson said. “Going twice a week helped get things moving in the right direction.”

Now that he feels his lower-back problems are under control, Gibson plans to scale back to a single visit per homestand. That way he won’t have to find somebody to visit on the road, while also limiting those realignment sessions to perhaps two per month.

“It has made a big difference in my hips and just everything,” said Gibson, who set career highs for starts (32) and innings (194 2/3) last season. “My skeletal system was basically allowing my muscular system to stay tight and not function properly. That caused some nerve irritation.”

While May features the classic “drop and drive” delivery, Gibson is from the “tall and fall” school that should, in theory, produce less strain on a pitcher’s hips and back. That didn’t prove to be the case over Gibson’s first few seasons in the majors, so he finally realized adjustments were needed.

“Some of my problem was just that I had some tight hips pulling my pelvis out of line and causing some irritation in the nerve,” Gibson said. “There were certain things I realized I could pitch through. You find ways to get around certain sorenesses and aches and pains.”

If the Twins can get 200 innings out of Gibson and 65 to 75 relief appearances out of May, they won’t just have a better chance to end a postseason drought that has reached five years and counting. They could have additional members of their pitching staff lining up for realignment sessions.

“It’s good,” Gibson said, “to feel good again.”

The game of baseball takes a toll on the body, especially when players advance from little league to high school, college, minor league, and the pros. The most common baseball injuries can range from mild to severe, from normal wear and tear on the joints and muscles to repetitive stress injuries, collisions with other players, getting hit with the ball, or bodily trauma. A chiropractor can provide ideal treatment for players of all ages and levels with decreased downtime and expedited healing and recovery.

Baseball Injuries

Although there have been a lot of advances in player safety and health, from helmets with face guards to shin and arm padding, the equipment lessens the impact and risks of injury. The game still involves running, sliding, twisting, and jumping, causing the body to maneuver awkwardly. Players often report sliding into first, feeling a pop or twisting to catch a fly ball, and feeling something snap. The most common injuries include:

Torn Labrum

• Cartilage surrounding the shoulder joint socket, known as the labrum, often gets torn.
• The soft tissue keeps the bones in place and provides stability.
• Pitching and throwing motions stress the labrum.
• With time, the cartilage begins to overstretch and tear, leading to swelling, shoulder pain, weakness, and overall instability.

Rotator Cuff Tears

• The rotator cuff structure involves a complex set of tendons and muscles that stabilize the shoulder.
• Pitchers are the most vulnerable, but all players are susceptible.
• Cases are caused by not warming up and stretching correctly and repetitive/overuse movements.
• Swelling and pain are the most common symptoms.
• With a severe tear, a player will lose the ability to rotate the shoulder correctly.

Shoulder Instability or Dead Arm

• This is when the shoulder muscles become overly fatigued, and the joint becomes unstable, losing the ability to throw precisely.
• The condition is called dead arm by players and trainers.
• This type of injury is caused by overuse and repeated stress.
• Healing involves letting the shoulder rest for an extended period, but treatment, like chiropractic or physical therapy, could be recommended depending on the severity.

Pitchers Elbow

• A pitcher’s elbow injury is caused by overuse and sustained/repeated damage to the tendons that rotate the wrist.
• Pain and swelling occur along the inside of the elbow and forearm.

Wrist Tendonitis and Trauma

• Wrist Tendonitis or tenosynovitis happens when the ligaments and tendons become tender, swollen, ruptured, or torn.
• This causes inflammation, pain, and weakness.
• Trauma injuries can result from collisions with another player, the ground, or a ball.

Knee Tears and Trauma

• Knee injuries can be caused by normal wear and tear, overuse, or traumatic impact.
• The fibrous bands are what stabilize and cushion the knee.
• Overuse and any awkward movement can cause the tearing of the various ligaments.
• The bands can develop micro-tears or complete ruptures, causing inflammation, pain, and instability.

Chiropractic Care and Rehabilitation

Chiropractic treatment and physical therapy have been found to help athletes maintain flexibility and range of motion, rehabilitate the body after an injury, and prevent new injuries or worsening of current injuries.

• Chiropractic helps stretch and flex the muscles to stay limber and less prone to injury.
• Chiropractic is a natural pain reliever for sore muscles and joint pain.
• Physical therapy can strengthen an injured area during recovery and educate on proper form and techniques.
• Taping and strapping can help support the elbows, wrists, ankles, and knees, reducing stress.
• A combination of treatment approaches can help decrease recovery time so players can get back on the field.

Shoulder Adjustment Baseball Injuries

General Disclaimer *

The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own healthcare decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified healthcare professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and directly or indirectly support our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has reasonably attempted to provide supportive citations and identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.

We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

Licensed in: Texas & New Mexico*

References

Bullock, Garrett S et al. “Shoulder Range of Motion and Baseball Arm Injuries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Journal of athletic training vol. 53,12 (2018): 1190-1199. doi:10.4085/1062-6050-439-17

Lyman, Stephen, and Glenn S Fleisig. “Baseball injuries.” Medicine and sport science vol. 49 (2005): 9-30. doi:10.1159/000085340

Matsel, Kyle A et al. “Current Concepts in Arm Care Exercise Programs and Injury Risk Reduction in Adolescent Baseball Players: A Clinical Review.” Sports health vol. 13,3 (2021): 245-250. doi:10.1177/1941738120976384

Shitara, Hitoshi, et al. “Shoulder Stretching Intervention Reduces the Incidence of Shoulder and Elbow Injuries in High School Baseball Players: a Time-to-Event Analysis.” Scientific reports vol. 7 45304. 27 Mar. 2017, doi:10.1038/srep45304

Wilk, Kevin E, and Christopher A Arrigo. “Rehabilitation of Elbow Injuries: Nonoperative and Operative.” Clinics in sports medicine vol. 39,3 (2020): 687-715. doi:10.1016/j.csm.2020.02.010

Baseball Injuries: The crack of a ball against your bat, good! The crack of a back or shoulder, bad!

Baseball, the nationwide pass time, heats up in summer. From little league on up, individuals enjoy swinging the bat and running the bases. Unfortunately, the movements baseball requires can wreak havoc on a person's body, leaving them with strained backs, hurt shoulders, and pulled muscles. According to Livestrong, there are over 600,000 injuries from playing baseball per year, and 5-14 year olds suffer from 117,000 of them.

The aspects of the game — running, sliding, twisting, and jumping — cause the body to maneuver into awkward positions. If you or a loved one has slid into first and felt a pop, or twisted to catch a fly ball and felt a snap, chiropractic care offers several ways to help put you on the road to a complete recovery.

Baseball Injuries: Manage Pain

Baseball injuries frequently involve large muscles, resulting in a high degree of pain. Chiropractic treatment offers relief from severe pain of many injuries involving the spine, muscles, and joints.

Using spinal adjustments, a chiropractor is able to help the body align itself properly, and sooth the injured area. Once the body functions normally, pain is diminished. Sometimes this can be accomplished in one visit, while other injuries require a few sessions before pain diminishes.

Increase Mobility

A strained neck, pulled back, or overextended knee may cause the individual serious issues in being able to move. Limping around slowly is nobody's idea of fun!

Chiropractic adjustments are proven to help reduce inflammation and improve mobility in many injury cases. If that last baseball game has you unable to put weight on your knee, your neck won't twist without pain, or your shoulder won't lift your arm, it may be time to visit a chiropractor for evaluation.

Promote Healing

The premise of chiropractic care is to treat the entire body as a whole, not just the injured part. As the body becomes better aligned, it functions at a higher capacity, and begins to heal itself.

Most injuries resulting from playing baseball, such as tendonitis, strained muscles, torn rotator cuffs, and the like, heal faster with chiropractic care. Increased blood flow to the injured area, and less pressure on the body part (usually due to misalignment of the spine) allow the injured area to regenerate, and a greater chance to begin healing faster than without chiropractic care.

Avoid Medication

Even over-the-counter pain and anti-inflammatory drugs cause side effects in certain individuals. Allergies, stomach issues, and other reasons result in many injured people steering clear of medication to relieve pain and inflammation.

Chiropractic care provides these individuals a drug-free, less invasive way to help manage the pain and promote healing. More people every year are choosing to visit a chiropractor for pain relief instead of popping pain medicine.

Before jumping into a baseball game, or even if you or your children play regularly, remember that prevention is worth its weight in gold. Take care of your body by stretching beforehand, being aware of your physical limits, maintaining proper posture, and staying hydrated during the game. With a little extra effort, the chance of a baseball injury can be dramatically decreased.

Summer fun often includes activities such as baseball, whether in a league or in your back yard with your family. Avoid suffering from an injury as best you can, and, if you or your child end up with an achy knee, twisted elbow, or smarting shoulder, call you chiropractor to schedule a thorough evaluation as quickly as possible.

Prevention, Recognition & Management Of Youth Sports Injuries