I'm a 17 year old pitcher, been pitching all my life, now my elbow hurts when I bend it

by Cameron
(california)

I'm 17 years old an have been pitching all my life.

I recently took a break for about 6 weeks and i came out of the break and threw really good but after my elbow started to have pain when i was to bend it a certain way.

Is this normal? Should i just ice and take advil til it gets better?



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Joshua Answers:


Hi Cameron.

Well, 'normal' is relative.

Is it normal to come off a break, throw hard, and have pain? Yes.

-Should- you be hurting? Ideally no.

Are you? Yes. So let's deal with that.


As you know, pitching can put a certain amount of strain on your elbows, shoulders, etc.

Depending on -how- you throw, you can focus more strain on one part more than another.

I don't know exactly what's going on with you, obviously, but I could theorize that:

1. You didn't warm up as well as you should have.

2. Even if you had, you've pitched for years, and your body has developed to allow you to do that.

Let's show you how to keep your arm healthy.


First, Questions:

1. Does it hurt inside of the elbow on the biceps side, or on the back of the elbow on the triceps side?

2. It's been a few days. Does it still hurt?

3. If you straighten/bend your arm easily/slowly, does it hurt? If you do it quick, does it hurt?

4. If you do an easy pitch motion, does it hurt?

5. If you do a bicep curl/tricep extension, does it hurt?

6. If it hurts, describe the pain in as much detail as possible. Who what how when where.


Also, for a start, start ice dipping as described on the How To Reduce Inflammation page.

I'm not a big fan of Anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen.



Joshua Tucker, B.A., C.M.T.
The Tendonitis Expert
www.TendonitisExpert.com