If you missed Part 1, check it out here: https://rehabilitationperformance.com/how-to-keep-your-youth-baseball-player-healthy-part-1/
Part 1 focused primarily on avoiding overuse, which is likely the lowest-hanging fruit when it comes to youth baseball injuries. Now that we’ve covered that, let’s dive deeper into the areas I address daily as a Physical Therapist. Below are ways 3-5 we can keep youth baseball players healthy and on the field.
3. Don’t Let Your Child Continue Throwing Through Pain
When I look at throwing-related pain, I typically see two categories of athletes.
a) Players who are currently reporting pain
If your athlete is experiencing shoulder or elbow pain with throwing, they should not be throwing. Period.
More than half of pitchers who require Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL report that they had pain with throwing prior to the injury. Pain is your body’s warning system. Think of it as a “check engine” light. If you address it early, you can often prevent a breakdown. Ignore it too long, and you risk more significant damage.
In youth athletes especially, we can often resolve painful movement patterns if we address them early. But if they continue throwing through pain, they increase their risk of more extensive injury — potentially one that requires a prolonged shutdown from throwing.
b) Players who had pain last season but did nothing about it
Too many baseball players “survive” the season by throwing through discomfort and then rely on offseason rest to fix the problem. While rest is often necessary, it rarely addresses the root cause of the pain.
If your athlete had pain last season and the only intervention was rest, there’s a high likelihood the pain will return. Underlying contributors such as limited shoulder mobility, restricted spine mobility, strength imbalances, or poor mechanics don’t resolve on their own.
Be proactive. Address the root cause before “just pain” becomes a bigger issue.
4. Use a Proper Warmup and Recovery Program
“Warm up to throw. Don’t throw to warm up.” – Tom House
One of the first questions I ask during an evaluation is: What does your warmup look like?
Many times, that question alone reveals the problem. The number of athletes who either a) don’t warm up at all, or b) warm up improperly is concerning.
If your athlete doesn’t warm up, the solution is simple: start warming up before throwing.
If the warmup is poorly designed, the solution is more individualized. Warmups are not one-size-fits-all. Athletes vary in height, flexibility, strength, and mobility. Giving every athlete the exact same routine ignores these differences.
My advice: find a Physical Therapist familiar with the demands of baseball and have your athlete assessed. A proper evaluation can help create a warmup specific to their body type and limitations.
Recovery is just as important as preparation. Research shows that after throwing:
- Shoulders are weaker
- Shoulder mobility is reduced
A proper recovery program should address strength deficits, mobility limitations, and tissue recovery strategies to restore muscle integrity. The goal is to ensure the arm is adapting positively throughout the season — getting stronger and more resilient — rather than progressively breaking down.
A good warmup and an effective recovery plan make that possible.
5. Be Proactive With Arm Health
There’s no denying that injury rates in baseball are high. Few sports have normalized pain the way baseball has, and that mindset contributes to rising injury rates.
One of the best ways to combat this is to be proactive rather than reactive.
Consider establishing care with a Physical Therapist even if your athlete is not currently injured. This can help in two major ways:
a) Identify Risk Factors Before They Become Injuries
Baseball is a heavily researched sport, and we know many measurable risk factors for injury. These include:
- Shoulder mobility
- Spine mobility
- Neck mobility
- Hip mobility
- Grip strength
- Balance
A thorough preseason screening can identify limitations and address them before they contribute to injury.
b) Establish Baseline Measurements
Throwing places significant stress on the body. The rotator cuff becomes weaker after throwing. Shoulder range of motion decreases. Injuries often occur when these changes accumulate beyond what the body can tolerate.
If we have baseline measurements of how an athlete moves and performs when they feel good, it becomes much easier to identify what changed when pain develops. That means less guessing and often a faster, more efficient return to play.
Final Thoughts
Every injury is unique to the individual athlete. The answer to “Why did this happen?” is rarely the same from one player to the next.
Not all injuries are preventable. But there is a great deal we can do — as coaches, parents, athletes, and medical professionals — to protect the arms of young baseball players and keep them healthy in the game we all love.
Key Takeaways (Part 2)
- Pain is often present before a major injury occurs.
- In youth athletes especially, we can often resolve painful movement patterns if we address them early.
- Use a proper, individualized warmup before throwing and an effective recovery program afterward.
- Be proactive with arm health through Physical Therapy and Injury Prevention.
