Arm Care Part I- Strengthening

  As mentioned in my last post with the rapid approach of baseball and softball season I wanted to share some arm care tips.  Baseball arm care gets a lot of attention due to the nature of pitching and the common injuries that occur.  That isn't to say that other overhead athletes (like myself who plays volleyball and softball) couldn't absolutely benefit from these exercises too.  The shoulder is a ball and socket joint with a ton of mobility that allows us to perform motions like throwing.  The trade off for all the mobility is often a lack of stability.  This means it is critical to keep your shoulder strong especially as an overhead athlete.

Thanks to the work of many researchers out there who have shared their awesome findings (Mike Reinold, Kevin Wilk to name a few) we have EMG studies telling us the exercises that get the most activation for each muscle.  Mike Reinold discussed at the last SF Giants Sports Medicine Conference the importance of continuing to perform the exercises that we know work even if they aren't the flashy ones we're seeing on Instagram. That being said what should we include as part of our strengthening program for the rotator cuff and scapular muscles?  Here are a few of the basics that are key for a healthy arm.

Sidelying external rotation gets the most bang for your buck when strengthening the rotator cuff.  Use a towel roll under your arm for 20% more muscle activation. 

This is a definite "oldie but goodie" as external rotation can also be strengthened with a band.  Bands give a different kind of resistance compared to weights and it is important to slowly return to your starting position so you can reap the eccentric benefits. Keep the towel roll in the mix for this one too for extra muscle activation.

Prone Y's are great for strengthening scapular muscles particularly lower trapezius.  If you don't have a table a ball or a bench in the gym also works.  Make sure you start with a light weight, often the upper trap is tempted to compensate with this one.

Another great exercise for lower trapezius activation is the banded W.  This can be done sitting or standing.  I really like sitting on the ball because it helps to cue some extra postural engagement.

Finally a great exercise for serratus anterior is banded wall slides.  With this exercise pay careful attention that you keep your mid back slightly rounded (so that it is not flat).  This helps with upward rotation of the scapula and is a critical muscle for overhead athletes.

These are a few great basics to add to your arm care routine.  Aside from strength we also train overhead athletes to build dynamic stability.  Often that involves manually resisted exercises but next time I will go over some good options you can do on your own.  Keep those arms healthy everyone! 

And if you are having pain come see me!  Sports like baseball require full body movement assessment from the ground up.  Make sure you are moving well and pain-free so you can stay in the game and perform at 110%!