I Never Wanted to Run a Marathon
I spent years telling my patients I had no interest in running a marathon. I had spent all of my public school years running cross-country, including some 10km races, and I’d like to think I was fairly decent at it. But once I started university and into my career, distance running stopped. I tried to get back into running a few times, but it never felt comfortable. After I moved to Ireland, I decided running was something I wanted to do again, but this time with a different approach. I didn’t set out to run a marathon; I just wanted running to feel good again.
Getting Out of Pain Isn’t the Same as Being Game-Ready
Your shoulder feels better, you’ve been doing your exercises, and you’ve even gotten stronger. So why aren’t you automatically ready to throw now following an injury? While these are definite improvements as part of the rehab process, there is still a bit of a gap between this and being prepared for the in-game demands of baseball and softball. This is because throwing a baseball (along with other movements in baseball) is a highly specific, high-speed movement that places substantial demands on the entire body. Eventually, though, rehab has to cross the line from preparing you to throw to actually throwing.
When the Season Catches Up With You
As the summer sports season comes to an end, you may begin to notice you feel a little bit different after games compared to at the start of the season. You might be a little more sore, sleep a bit longer, need more time to warm up, or be managing some nagging injuries. This isn’t because you’re becoming less fit, but rather because you’re accumulating more and more fatigue throughout the season. As a result, your strategies for training and recovery may need to change in order to ensure you’re well enough to perform right to the end of the season.
Your Slow is Too Fast, and Your Fast is Too Slow
When I started training for my 10km race almost a year ago, I decided to add some speed sessions to my training and really start to vary my sessions. This included long, slow distance (LSD), easy, tempo, interval, and recovery runs. I had dabbled in these different runs a bit when I ran cross country in high school, but last year it took a little bit of time to get a handle on them and truly appreciate their purpose. If you don’t, you end up in this weird middle ground where every run is tiring without the intended benefits.
Pain is Part of the Picture, But Not the Whole Picture
Pain is real, but pain is weird. This past week in my baseball game, I had to dive back to first base for three pick-off attempts, and then I stole second base, and I came out of it with a scrape on my right knee. The rest of the day and into the next, it was throbbing and painful, with a tearing sensation while bending my knee. But it got me thinking, “this is just a scrape to the outer layer of my skin, why does this hurt so much?” That is because pain tells us something has happened, but it doesn't necessarily tell us what has happened.
Why Baseball Players Should Do More than Just Play Baseball
As the baseball and softball season starts to wind down across Ireland, many teams and players may already be looking towards next season. The weather is still great for getting outside, but as we transition to the fall and winter, teams will start to move inside to continue with their training. However, even though we all love baseball, variety in activity is important for athletic performance, and the off-season is a great time to play something different.
Understanding Your Injury Shouldn’t Require a Medical Degree
Have you ever left a therapy appointment knowing your diagnosis, but still not really understanding what it meant? Research consistently supports patient education as a key part of the assessment and rehab process. But a good explanation of your injury should leave you with less confusion, not more information.
Arm Care is About More Than Just the Arm
What comes to mind when you hear “arm care”? Most baseball and softball players probably think about rotator cuff exercises using resistance bands and light dumbbells, external rotations, the Thrower’s 10, or shoulder mobility. But throwing isn’t just a movement of the shoulder; it involves the entire body.
The Gym Prepares You to Throw. It Doesn't Replace Throwing.
Many baseball players spend their off-season getting stronger in the gym. Then when the first few throwing sessions arrive, it’s common for their arm to feel sore, heavy, or just not ready at the start. It’s easy to wonder, “I’ve been training all winter - why doesn’t my arm feel ready?” The answer is simple: the gym prepares you to throw, but it doesn’t replace throwing.
What Should a Healthy Throwing Arm Feel Like?
We often assume that a healthy throwing arm should feel perfect. No soreness, tightness, or stiffness. So when our shoulder or elbow starts to ache after throwing, it’s easy to wonder if something is wrong. But that expectation isn’t realistic. A healthy throwing arm isn’t always a pain-free throwing arm.