Kids Should Ease Into Baseball Season

Playing catch now can limit rotator cuff injuries
By Max Brallier,  Newser User
Posted Dec 26, 2007 9:45 AM CST
Kids Should Ease Into Baseball Season
Baseball Hall of Famer and all time great Rod Carew, top right, watches a student player from the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School lead off thir, during a practice in which he assisted the coaches, at a ball field in Caguas, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept 19, 2007. Carew, who lives in California,...   (Associated Press)

Tossing a baseball around in the off-season might help young pitchers stave off rotator cuff injuries, reports HealthDay. "Most high school athletes go from football to basketball and then start throwing a baseball at full speed," says the Houston Astros' team doc, adding that their arms aren't yet in "baseball shape."

Increasing numbers of young pitchers find themselves being treated for torn rotator cuffs, likely a result of high pitch counts and throwing curveballs, HealthDay says. In addition to easing into the season, the Astros doc also recommends weight training with the goal of flexibility, not bulk, in order to avoid injury.  (More rotator cuff injuries stories.)

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