How to Prevent and Treat Softball Injuries
When you look at statistics it is evident that softball injuries in children are happening more frequently, with shoulder and elbow injuries being the most frequent. In fact, these types of injuries are so frequent that if someone is injured playing softball or baseball you can almost bet that this will be the type of injury they have.
Of these types of softball injuries, an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament is the most common. This injury is usually due to pitchers that are overusing their arm by throwing too much. When someone suffers this type of injury treatment and successful rehabilitation can be quite difficult.
Like many types of softball injuries, this injury is attributed to overuse, but there are some steps you can take to help prevent this type of injury, as well as other types of softball injuries.
- Make sure that your child warms up before practice, as well as a game. He or she can warm up by stretching and running.
- Don’t let your child be pitcher all of the time, ask the coach to rotate his or her position.
- It is probably not a good idea to let your child pitch for different teams with seasons that overlap.
- Don’t let your child pitch more than one day in a row.
- Pay attention if your child begins to complain of pain, as they may have suffered one of the many common softball injuries.
The most common method of treating these types of softball injuries is for the patient to discontinue the activity that caused the injury and to get plenty of rest. Ibuprofen is commonly used to help reduce swelling and pain, but if the pain persists you will want to contact your child’s doctor. This is especially important if the child appears to be having a problem with full range motion of his arm or shoulder.
To diagnose softball injuries the doctor will examine your child and may take X-Rays and possibly an MRI. In most cases you will find that bed rest will not be completely successful in treating the injury. Rest may help with the symptoms, but there is likely to be some loss of muscle tone and bulk. In rare cases, surgery may be required to treat the injury, but most of the time physical rehabilitation is enough.
Softball injuries are most common in children between the ages of 8 and 15 due to the fact that this is when children are growing the most and their bones and joints are vulnerable to injury.
Another common type of injury is a sprained ankle. There is a lot of running and sliding when playing this sport and the result is that many children end up with sprained ankles. These softball injuries can be due to poor balance, as well as an uneven field, or running over debris on the field.
Like with most other sports injuries, you can help to prevent a sprained ankle by warming up properly, as well as not overusing your body. Always get a day or two of rest between games so that you will be at your best, plus be less likely to be injured.