Arm problems

[bigdog4364]

Hi,

I am 30 years old and just joined a softball league. I have not played in years but I have adapted to playing the outfield pretty good. The only problem is when I start throwing my arm starts hurting right above the elbow area, so bad to where I can hardly throw the ball. Does anyone have any suggestions to how I can eliminate this. Any suggestions will be well appreciated.

[Chris O'Leary]

Hi,

I am 30 years old and just joined a softball league. I have not played in years but I have adapted to playing the outfield pretty good. The only problem is when I start throwing my arm starts hurting right above the elbow area, so bad to where I can hardly throw the ball. Does anyone have any suggestions to how I can eliminate this. Any suggestions will be well appreciated.

Above toward the hand or above toward the shoulder?

[GFK]

With all do respect, GO SEE A DOCTOR!

No one on the forum (even if they were qualified) would be crazy enough to give out medically related advice over the internet. I will not even give advice regarding a swing without seeing a video. Only a fool would give you advice regarding a potential sports injury after only hearing you say your arm hurts.

[bigdog4364]

Above toward the hand or above toward the shoulder? toward the shoulder.

[bigdog4364]

With all do respect, GO SEE A DOCTOR!

No one on the forum (even if they were qualified) would be crazy enough to give out medically related advice over the internet. I will not even give advice regarding a swing without seeing a video. Only a fool would give you advice regarding a potential sports injury after only hearing you say your arm hurts.
I just wanted to know if there is maybe some kind of warmup that I can do or maybe stretching. It's not like my arm always hurts it's only aftering throwing the ball for a while in a game. Since I have not played in competion sports for a while I was wondering whats are some warm up procedure other people do before playing in a game.

[Chris O'Leary]

I just wanted to know if there is maybe some kind of warmup that I can do or maybe stretching. It's not like my arm always hurts it's only aftering throwing the ball for a while in a game. Since I have not played in competion sports for a while I was wondering whats are some warm up procedure other people do before playing in a game.

Have you been to a doctor? If not, you should. This is an unusual place to be feeling pain.

Do you warm up before entering the game or do you just go into the game and start throwing at full speed? I have to throw the ball around on the sideline for 10 minutes to get warmed up or else I'll have problems.

[CanadianKid]

toward the shoulder.

Do you mean the bicep? If you have pain in the bicep it's most likely tendonitis which isn't very serious, but like everyone said go see a doctor.

[Jesse]

I recently got back into throwing after a long hiatus. I experienced elbow pain as well, but it went away after several weeks. In my case I think it was caused by a combination of a) poor throwing mechanics and b) a weak arm. Like you, the pain would come with fatigue. As my mechanics and arm strength improved, the pain went away. It didn't just happen - I worked on it. I did a lot of research on proper throwing technique, and I spent a lot of time in the back yard throwing and paying attention to the signals I was getting from my arm until I figured out what I was doing wrong.

In other words, it may be nothing serious but you should still probably see a doctor, especially if it continues to get worse instead of better.

[cartersball]

In other words, it may be nothing serious but you should still probably see a doctor, especially if it continues to get worse instead of better.

I agree. I quit playing when my son was old enough to play tee ball. At the end of his first season in tee ball I was asked to help coach the 14 year old allstar team. This involved a ton of hard throwing, be it from the mound or from the outfield. I had only been away from playing for eight months, but I was sore everyday of that allstar season. Long story short, I went to see a doctor and found out I had torn some cartilage in my elbow. Its always better to get checked than to ignore it.

[bigdog4364]

Thank you all for your input on this. I will go see a doctor because I normally do warm up before and the pain is still there. Although it's not coming from the elbow itself but more from the bottom of the bicep muscle. It sounds more of what Jesse went through because the pain only comes about when I start throwing the ball, besides that it might be sore for a day but then goes back to normal. I played my first game this week and have had two practices prior.

[jimmiemac]

Ibupropean!

Welcome to old age man! I know it is just 30, but the layoffs are deadly. If the pain is persistent layoff throwing. Get yourself some J bands and do the exercises recommended on the ASMI website. You need a lot more warmups than you used to and need to throw more often (when there is no pain).

I went through all the pains again when my son got older and we were really throwing it to each other.

Good luck.

[bigdog4364]

Cool man. That's some good advice. I will visit that website to get some tips and definetly buy some of those wraps, whatever helps. I will do more harm than help to my team if I can't throw at full strenght from the outfield.

[LousivilleSlugger]

I get a similar problem when my arm becomes fatigued. I mostly play baseball now, but used to play both baseball and softball. My pain is located on the lower part of the Tricep behind the elbow, and sometimes on the inner muscle on the forearm. It happens at least a couple times a season. I play 3rd base now, and do some pitching. We only play once a week, and a couple times we play twice a week. I do not do any throwing in between so I know its because my arm is not as strong as it should be, I just need to throw more. Your symptoms sound a lot like this. Those bands your talking about buying will do wonders for your arm strength and stamina. Proper technique is also key. Using your body to help generate the arm speed and being able to properly slow the arm down (no recoil) with a proper follow through will take some stress off the elbow and tendons.