If you're a baseball player with back pain, it’s important to find out what’s causing it. Sometimes, back pain can come from something called spondylolysis/spondylolisthesis. These are big words, but they just mean that a small bone in your back might have a crack or got to a point where it has created some instability (hard to stay put). This can make your back hurt, especially when you bend backward.
This is where we come in. We figure out if you have this problem by doing special tests and looking at movement patterns. Physicians will do the same with special testing and then look at pictures of your back, like X-rays or an MRI. The pain can feel like other back problems, such as a disc injury or muscle strain, so it's important to get the right diagnosis.
If you have spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis, you might need to wear a special back brace for about 8-12 weeks to help your back heal. During this time, you won’t be able to do much sports activity, but after about 12 weeks, you can start getting back into action. The first step is to avoid bending backward and work on movements that protect your back.
Focus on Thoracic and Hip Mobility
In baseball players, poor thoracic spine mobility can contribute to compensatory movements that stress the lower back. To address this, we focus on restoring thoracic extension.
Key Exercises:
Motor Control and Core Stability
Our priority here is to build core stability, particularly in flexion. Baseball players often exhibit anterior pelvic tilt and lumbar lordosis, making this a crucial area of focus.
Key Exercises:
Pain-Free Movement Progression
Once pain-free movement is achieved, we advance to more functional exercises that integrate postural control and dynamic stability.
Key Exercises:
Transitioning to Strength and Power
In this phase, we build on the stability and mobility work to enhance power output, crucial for baseball performance. We start with flexion-biased training and progress to more dynamic, sport-specific activities.
Key Exercises:
As we progress, these exercises will become more specific to baseball, ensuring that your kinematic sequence from the pelvis through the thoracic spine to the arms is optimized for peak performance.
If you're a baseball player with back pain, we’re here to help. The sooner you start working on it, the sooner you can get back on the field and play even better than before.
As my client Irwin said, "A lot of people say they can make you better, but you actually did!" He got back to playing and even made a summer team that is getting him noticed by colleges.
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Thank you,
Daniel Stokes