The Tommy John .... Dilema?

Earlier last week, one of the top young pitchers in baseball, Jose Fernandez, had an MRI that revealed damage to his Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL). Shortly after, sports writers/analysts/etc. across the country began searching for the reason why there seems to be a rise in UCL reconstruction surgeries (Tommy John Surgery). Many of these people even seemed somewhat angry that MLB teams "don't do more to protect their pitchers' elbows."

I'm suggesting that they shouldn't be blaming the MLB organizations, but maybe the parents/coaches of those MLB pitchers when they were ages 5-18.

Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins

Thought for the Day: Treating Pain

This is just a quick thought to ponder. I may eventually do a short blog post on this subject but for now, just two sentences:

Don't just treat an individual for pain. Also correct any dysfunctions as a form of preventative medicine to lower risk for future injury.

Bullets from Eric Schoenberg, Eric Cressey, and Matt Blake: Part 3

About a month or two ago, Eric Cressey (@EricCressey) hosted a baseball training mentorship at his facility in Massachusetts. He had a few guest speakers there, including Eric Schoenberg and Matt Blake (@Blake_Matt). They were "live tweeting" during the event, trying to share some info on Twitter with their followers. If you already follow these two, then you may have seen this information before. If you haven't (and even if you have), I suggest you click to read more as I will post a few of the bits I found good for parents/coaches/etc.

While the purpose of this mentorship may have been geared toward baseball players, A LOT of the information they shared can be applied to athletes of many different sports.

There is a lot of information here, so I'm breaking this up into three parts. Part One will be quotes from Eric Schoenberg. Part Two from Eric Cressey. Part Three from Matt Blake.

Finally getting around to posting the Third and final part of these bullets. Click to read on.

Bullets from Eric Schoenberg, Eric Cressey, and Matt Blake: Part 2

About a month or two ago, Eric Cressey (@EricCressey) hosted a baseball training mentorship at his facility in Massachusetts. He had a few guest speakers there, including Eric Schoenberg and Matt Blake (@Blake_Matt). They were "live tweeting" during the event, trying to share some info on Twitter with their followers. If you already follow these two, then you may have seen this information before. If you haven't (and even if you have), I suggest you click to read more as I will post a few of the bits I found good for parents/coaches/etc.

While the purpose of this mentorship may have been geared toward baseball players, A LOT of the information they shared can be applied to athletes of many different sports.

There is a lot of information here, so I'm breaking this up into three parts. Part One will be quotes from Eric Schoenberg. Part Two from Eric Cressey. Part Three from Matt Blake.

Bullets from Eric Schoenberg, Eric Cressey, and Matt Blake: Part 1

About a month or two ago, Eric Cressey (@EricCressey) hosted a baseball training mentorship at his facility in Massachusetts. He had a few guest speakers there, including Eric Schoenberg and Matt Blake (@Blake_Matt). They were "live tweeting" during the event, trying to share some info on Twitter with their followers. If you already follow these two, then you may have seen this information before. If you haven't (and even if you have), I suggest you click to read more as I will post a few of the bits I found good for parents/coaches/etc.

While the purpose of this mentorship may have been geared toward baseball players, A LOT of the information they shared can be applied to athletes of many different sports.

There is a lot of information here, so I'm breaking this up into three parts. Part One will be quotes from Eric Schoenberg. Part Two from Eric Cressey. Part Three from Matt Blake. 

Don't Rush Into Big Lifts

Long-time, no-post.

I've been wanting to make this blog post for a while but haven't had a lot of time available. I see this a lot in young athletes that come into the clinic to workout and even some in the adult population that want to return to exercising/working out regularly.

Are you or your kids beginning "big" lifts before you (they) are ready? Read on for more info.

Are We Praising Athletes Who Are More Likely To Get Injured?

The WGEM news station here in Quincy, IL recently did a special report on the potential risks of athletes lifting too much weight at a young age. If you haven’t already seen/read the report, you can view it here: http://www.wgem.com/story/23946627/2013/11/12/pressing-it.

In their report, “Pressing It,” they interview different high school athletes and coaches about the potential dangers of lifting weights at a young age and the risks involved with doing so. They argue (correctly) that lifting weights can damage growth plates and can impact the child's’ health as they continue to grow. This is true if the young individual has not been properly taught correct lifting mechanics prior to lifting weights. It is especially true if the child cannot move correctly to begin with. That is an entirely different matter itself.