Before I was a chiropractor, I spent my life in baseball: playing at the collegiate level, playing and coaching four seasons in Europe and Australia, running two baseball and softball academies, and even umpiring throughout chiropractic college when I could on weekends. I’ve watched a lot of young arms at every single level of the game. And I’ve watched a lot of parents hear “my arm’s a little sore” and not know whether to ice it, rest it, or worry.
Here’s how I think about it now that I look at athletes as a chiropractor.
The arm is usually the victim, not the cause
Throwing is a full-body movement. Force starts in the legs, transfers through the hips and trunk, and gets delivered through the shoulder and elbow. When any link in that chain isn’t doing its job, the arm makes up the difference.
The nerves that power the shoulder and arm muscles come from the lower part of the neck. The shoulder blade rides on the mid-back. So when a young player’s neck and upper back are stiff or slumped (and with phones and school backpacks, many are), the shoulder can lose some of its room to move and the small rotator cuff muscles may fire late. The elbow then takes stress it wasn’t built for. We cover this in more depth on our Shoulder & Elbow Injury Recovery page.
Warning signs parents miss
- Velocity or accuracy drops for no clear reason, especially late in a game or a tournament weekend.
- Arm slot changes. Your player starts “slinging” or dropping the elbow.
- Soreness that lasts more than a day or two after throwing, or shows up between outings.
- Pain on the inside of the elbow or the front or back of the shoulder.
- Avoiding throwing or asking to play a different position.
Any pain that’s sharp, comes with swelling, numbness or tingling, or doesn’t settle with rest should be checked by a medical professional. Growth plates in young athletes are vulnerable, and some injuries need imaging and an orthopedic opinion.
Rest and pitch counts matter. They’re not the whole picture.
Follow your league’s pitch-count and rest rules, and avoid pitching for multiple teams at once. Year-round throwing without an off-season is one of the most common setups for arm problems I saw as a coach.
But rest alone doesn’t change why the arm was overloaded. If the hips don’t rotate well, the mid-back is stiff, or the shoulder blade doesn’t move the way it should, the same problem can come right back when throwing picks up again.
What we check in a young thrower
Every new patient starts with a Day 1 Spine & Nerve Exam. For throwers, I look closely at:
- Shoulder range of motion and grip strength, side to side. Throwing arm versus non-throwing arm tells us a lot.
- Neck and mid-back alignment and motion, since that’s where the arm’s nerves and shoulder blade get their foundation.
- Hip rotation, because a player who can’t load the back hip often throws with the arm.
- Muscle activation with NeuFit, to see which shoulder and core muscles aren’t firing on time.
X-rays are taken only when the exam calls for them. On Day 2, we go over what we found with you and your athlete, and recommend care only if we can help.
How we help
Depending on the exam, a plan may include gentle, age-appropriate chiropractic adjustments to the neck and mid-back, NeuFit to retrain the muscles that stabilize the shoulder, and a simple at-home routine your athlete can actually stick to. We work alongside your player’s coach or trainer, not instead of them.
For Sarasota baseball and softball families
If your player’s arm has been “a little sore” for more than a couple of weeks, or you’re heading into fall ball or a showcase season, it’s worth getting a baseline. Schedule a Day 1 exam or call (941) 259-2229. Learn more about how we work with young athletes and sports injuries.
– Dr. Alex Lee, DC
About Dr. Alex Lee
Dr. Alex is a Life Chiropractic College West graduate and former D1 baseball player who owns Circadian Chiropractic & Sport in Sarasota, Florida. He helps families and athletes in Sarasota, Bradenton, and Lakewood Ranch.
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