On Saturday, March 25, SPEAR Physical Therapy hosted a Baseball Injury Screening for the Peter Stuyvesant Little League (PSLL) players as part of our continued grassroots effort to prevent throwing injuries.
Did you know that pitching is the fastest recorded human movement? The amount of force experienced by a pitcher’s shoulder is 1-1.5x that of the person’s body weight! We are doing what we can to help the youngest ball players stay injury free.
Justin Farnsworth, PT, DPT, CSCS, SFMA, CAFS, ran the recent screen which brought to SPEAR some 35 young players. In his time working as a PT in Arizona, Farnsworth, a college-level athlete, conducted similar assessments many times for ball players at all levels of the game, including many major league athletes.
Farnsworth explains the importance of the baseball screen to these young players. “There is a high incidence of players as young as middle and high school who are getting elbow/shoulder surgery due to injuries sustained during throwing. Screening allows to identify players who are at risk and catch them before these injuries develop. It also allows us to give back to the community and service players who need it.”
Identifying Risk
The PSLL athletes who attended the screen were put through a series of seven short tests designed to assess critical components of a pitching delivery. The goal was to identify any players who would be considered at risk for injuries related to throwing. Players who were determined to be vulnerable to elbow or shoulder injuries received injury-preventing tips and corrective exercises from members of the SPEAR team.
Screen Now, Play Later
The importance of these assessments should not be overlooked for players of this age. With a little education in motor control and some targeted strength exercises, most at-risk players are able to reverse their tendency toward injury in just a few sessions with the right physical therapist.
Any baseball team interested in this type of functional screen should contact us at 212-759-2282.
Thanks to everyone who came out! All of us at SPEAR Physical Therapy wish you a safe and winning season!
