Notes of Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athlete

Listen more, ask a lot of questions of your patients.

Surgery in minor leagues, cuts your chance to make big leagues by 50%.
2 out of 100 make it to majors.

Multiple sports helps develop a rich proprioceptive background.

Northeast players are getting drafted more because of less wear and tear then someone from the south.

3 Window of Adaptation

1.  Determine the athletes position on the absolute strength to absolute speed.
(this may change during season and time of year and age of athlete)

2.  Getting outside the sagital plane

3.  Understanding and individualizing deceleration.

How to build an athlete sprinter analogy.
absolute speed is sprinting.  absolute strength would be squats and deadlifts.
Applied to pitching.  Find where your athlete is on the continuum.
absolute speed,  he had done this all the time in throwing a fastball,  absolute strength (AS) is strength training.
AS is the basis for joint stability.

NOTE:  Long distance running has no place in the continuum.

2.  Rotational sports play in all three planes, but programs live in the sagital plane.  This allows rotational training to allow for good improvements.
no correlation to pitching velocity and vertical jump.
there is some correlation to lateral hop and rotational power to pitching.
Good exercises are med ball throws.
rotational med ball stomp  (VIDEO)
split stance overhead throw.  (VIDEO)
single leg stance allows tri planar stability
Sledgehammer work.  Overhead pounding
Typical off season med ball program can have 240-360 throws per week.
generally one overhead and one rotational exercise per session.
Heidens are excellent.  Create positive shin angle. get a stretch of the glutes into 3 planes of motion.

3.  Supinators,  flexors, GH joint.  internal rotation has to be controlled as well as traction of the arm. Thoracic spine and core stabilizer will be important.  Lower 1/2.  Big butts (strong) can reduce load on the arm.
Manual resistance and rhythmic stabilization is a good for the shoulder.
quadruped tspine rotation.  follow your elbow with your eyes. Is a good T-spine mobility drill.
Core should focus on preventing antiextenion.

Important notes is players history.  What did he do a lot of?  Will potentially show you where you need to go.