Are you experiencing soreness in your throwing arm early in the season? If you are, you’re not alone.
Don’t panic, this soreness isn’t as uncommon as you may think. Keep in mind, soreness is different from pain & injury.
Below are 3 ways to reduce arm soreness from throwing
#1 Warm-up Properly
Running a few poles and then picking up a baseball isn’t going to cut it. Instead your warm-up should prepare the body by doing various mobility & activation exercises to prepare the body for what you’re going to do.
Another good tip is to break a light sweat before you even think about throwing. This will guarantee that your body temperature is elevated. And once this occurs, your soft tissues are warm and more pliable and can more easily move through the throwing motion.
#2 Condition Your Arm Prior to Competitive Play
Immediately post-season is the ideal time to take a break from throwing.
After that window and as the season approaches you should start throwing once a week. After a few weeks of that you should increase that to two, then to three and so on until you’re throwing 5-6 days a week. The same concept applies for intensity; start throwing at 60% and after a few weeks work to 70%, and keep ramping up until we’re at 95-100%.
#3 Participate in a Good In-Season Training Program
Once the season is here, you should not abandon your strength training program, as tempting as it might be.
A good in-season program that includes strength training, mobility, soft tissue work will reduce your chance of soreness and keep your tissues strong enough to handle the stresses of throwing.
Additionally, strength training in-season will also provide an opportunity to maintain good mobility, a necessary requirement for soreness-free throwing.
Stay on top of taking care of your arm, it is very important. Be the athlete ready to play more, not the one sidelined by a sore arm.
