I was in the training room the other day watching the lacrosse players and soccer players and swimmers all getting treatment for their injuries.  I was in the training room doing my post-surgery rehab, which, as it turns out, was comprised mostly of the same exercises that I had been doing for the previous two years before my injury.  

As I was in there, it suddenly dawned on me: Pitchers are just unlike everyone else in the sense that what they do is so physically violent, that they have to do what is called “prehab” just to reduce the likelihood (or in reality, delay) injury.  

Its pretty much a fact that if a pitcher doesn’t do regular rotator cuff, scapula, and forearm work (basically the whole pitching arm), he is doomed to inevitable, catastrophic arm injury.  Doing prehab doesn’t guarantee health by any means, as tons of diligent pitchers still injure themselves regularly, but its our insurance policy, and at the very least gives us a better chance of not being injured.Other athletes don’t do this.  Soccer players play soccer, and when they get hurt, they do rehab and return to action.  Lacrosse, football, tennis, you name it, these sports all allow their athletes to play, with nothing intrinsic in the sport that injures them.  Sure, football and martial arts are violent and injurious, but the injuries are general and not caused by any specific physical act.

Baseball position players are also allowed to play.  Sure, they come down with the occasional arm problem, but with not nearly the regularity as the pitchers. 

No, pitchers are the only athletes that aren’t just allowed to just play their sport.  They simply can’t show up at the ballpark and leave when they are done.  They have to spend extra time strengthening and stretching their throwing arm just so it’s less likely to rip itself out of the socket.  Ever seen a pitcher’s arm lay back, parallel to the ground in external rotation?  Try replicating that in your living room, and you’ll start to understand…

The pitching motion is just ungodly stressful and unnatural for the human body.  Its  interesting how in the entire athletic community, this one position in one sport is so different from the rest.  Sure, all athletes have to strengthen their bodies to compete at a high level, but none but the pitcher are at such an injury risk where they must go above and beyond just to have a chance at longevity, and even then it’s often a losing battle.  

The only other trends like this are in knees of female athletes and football linemen.  Women are predisposed to ACL injury due to their natural body shape and unique biomechanics, and have an ACL injury rate something like 10x that of men.  A good friend of mine just tore hers for the second time.  Football linemen are so heavy and get pushed around so much that they suffer a similar fate.  

I, for one, am ready for titanium ligament replacements.  Maybe one day that will be possible.  I’ll gladly call myself a cyborg if it allows me 20 more good years.  

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