Post-Game Arm Recovery
I have gotten a couple of questions recently on post-pitching arm care, and since I have been very limited in time as far as creating and editing video posts goes, I thought I would make a quick but (hopefully) helpful written post on how you can care for your arm after you pitch!
Now of course if you suspect that the pain you are feeling after pitching is more than just post-game soreness, or you think you might have an injury you should see your orthopedist or physical therapist right away. I am not a doctor or a physical therapist and you should always seek their advice before doing anything. These tips are for those who experience post-game soreness as that can be due to overuse, and they are techniques that I have used myself in the past.
Soreness will most commonly be seen in those who pitch many games in a short period of time, those who pitch after taking a long amount of time off, or those who fatigue easily and mechanics start to break down during the game. Here are some tips about how you can care for your arm after you pitch, and I will include links to any products I recommend (not sponsored or affiliated with any of them, just products I have used in the past) at the bottom of the post:
- Ice: ice is best to do RIGHT AWAY after you pitch in order to keep the inflammation down. So, as soon as you are done pitching in a game, if you feel any soreness you should use ice. This immediate soreness is called the acute stage of soreness and it is best to use ice to reduce inflammation. I recommend getting one of those ice packs that can wrap around your whole arm. You can do 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off for ice until you feel a decrease in the soreness
- Heat: if the soreness continues for several days after pitching, you might include heat in your arm care regime. Heat is great for relaxing tense and sore muscles but it is best not to heat immediately after games as it will not help bring down the immediate inflammation. But after the inflammation has had a chance to go down, if you are still feeling soreness, heat can be great for relaxing the muscles. I definitely recommend a MOIST heat (aka not just one of those dry heater packs you stick in the microwave). Moist heater packs penetrate the muscles much more effectively than dry heater pads. You can do 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off for heat as well, and you can also alternate heat with ice.
- TENS unit: If you are a high level pitcher or you are serious about having a long pitching career that goes into PGF or Gold ball or you intend to play in college, I highly recommend investing in a good portable TENS unit. If you have ever been in physical therapy before you have probably had a TENS unit used on you. TENS stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, and it works by sending small electrical impulses (they feel sort of tingly) through electrodes that stick to your skin. Sounds a lot scarier than it is, but I think it feels SO good! I have had a portable TENS unit since the beginning of high school and it has helped with not only softball soreness but other non-softball related injuries I’ve had as well. It is specifically for pain reduction and they can be really useful for high level pitchers who are pitching in a lot of games in a weekend or during the school year. They are also a lot cheaper than they were when I had one!
- Rest/see a doctor: if your pain really persists and is not going away with any of these techniques, you might need to take some time off and see a specialist to make sure there are no injuries. Your pitching career is depended on a healthy arm and it is so important to take care of it even if it means taking some time off.
So these are my pitching arm care tips. I hope you guys have found them helpful! I will link all of the products I mentioned in this post below. Again these are not sponsored items nor am I advertising for anyone, these are exact products I used when I was playing. My TENS unit brand was called Empi and is pictured in the featured photo of this post but I have not been able to find the same one. But check out the items below: