Stretch Before That First Throw

Spring is here and it’s baseball season. However, with COVID-19 and all of us practicing social distancing you may not have had the chance to hit the baseball diamond for any throwing, batting or team play. To break the boredom and to get some exercise, your son or daughter may have shouted out “Mom/dad, let’s go out and play catch in the yard”.

You may be tempted to grab that glove and ball and just do it, but you have to remember to stretch and loosen up before making that first throw. Below are a few easy dynamic movements and stretches you can do to save yourself from injury or soreness of the shoulders, arms and trunk.

Arm Circles

• Stand upright with arms stretch out to side
• Keep elbows straight and arms parallel to ground
• Focussing on the shoulders, slowly rotate your arms in a circular motion making small circles
• Do 10 circles moving hands forward, then 1o backwards. Let arms down and rest for ~30 sec.
• Repeat doing medium size circles
• Repeat and finish by doing large circles.

Chest (pectoral) Stretch

• Stand in an open doorway.
• Raise arms up so elbows are at about shoulder height
• Bend elbows to 90 degrees
• Rest palms and forearms on door frame
• Slowly step forward with one foot
• Feel the stretch across both shoulders and chest
• Stand upright and avoid leaning forward
• Hold stretch 25-30 second
• Take a step back and relax
• Repeat 3-4 times

Posterior Cuff (back of shoulder) Stretch

• Standing upright, bring arm across the front of your chest
• Hold elbow with other hand
• Gently pull the elbow towards and across your chest
• Hold stretch 25-30 second
• Release, lower arm down and relax
• Repeat 3-4 times each shoulder

Trunk Rotations

• Stand or sit with a straight back
• Fold your arms across your chest
• Rotate to one side while keeping hips/pelvis still
• Hold this rotated position 5-10 seconds
• Release, return to neutral and relax
• Rotate to other side keeping hips/pelvis still
• Hold this rotated position 5-10 seconds
• Repeat 4-6 times each side

by Kevin Tam, PT
Special interest in shoulders and throwing injuries