Elbow Pain Help!

#1

Hello,

I’m a 17 yr old RHP, who is 6’3" 210 lbs.

I have recently been feeling a lot pain/discomfort when I pitch in the back side of my elbow where the elbow connects to the tricep and between my two inner elbow bones. The pain comes in cycles. For example I will pitch on Saturday no pain, but not be able to throw again with no pain until Friday.

Background:

I started training to gain velo this summer and have been lifting, gaining weight, long tossing and doing driveline.

June (start) - 6’2" 185lbs 80 mph

July - 6’2" 190 lbs 83 mph

October- 6’3" 200 lbs 85 mph

Shut down november to mid december

January - 6’3" 210 lbs 88 mph

Febuary - PAIN

#2

The next day after you pitch are you able to bend your elbow completely (180 degrees)? If not you are probably hyperextending the elbow.

#3

So many variables have been changed you may never know what caused it. Was your weight training designed for overhand athletes? Was the driveline program supervised by a knowledgeable instructor? Did you do a proper ramp up after shutting down for a month and a half?

Regardless, you need to stop throwing and see a sports medicine orthopedist with knowledge of baseball arms. The places you are having plain is screaming UCL problems (the Tommy John’s ligament).

#4

RHP245,

“I have recently been feeling a lot pain/discomfort when I pitch in the back side of my elbow where the elbow connects to the tricep and between my two inner elbow bones.”

There is an exact cause for your discomfort and zendog nailed it!

You perform the pathomechanic called forearm supination drive where the forearm drives in outwards rotation with all or most of your pitch types especially the curveball but not limited to that pitch type. You Hyper extend your Elbow where the Ulna crashes into the back of your Epicondyle at the Olecranon process. This first causes inflammationn then splits in the Hyaline cartilage then bone spurs growing thru those splits then breaking off of the spurs causing loose impediments floating around in the Elbow. The perturbed bone ends continually try to mend, growing thicker and thicker giving you unresolvable “Loss of range of motion” in both direction.

You should mitigate the problem by changing mechanically the way you drive and release the ball!

Mitigation- Learn to drive and release with forearm pronation where your Elbow will internally rotate and swivel release without extension crash. You can learn all pitch types by forearm pronating and it will further increase velocity and movement to both sides.

  1. Stay tall thru the whole delivery.

  2. Keep your body and ball in alignment with the “field driveline”. Recover back in line by popping your Elbow up, not pulling it down where your arm stays in line also.

  3. Forearm supinate your pendulum swing going back so you can then forearm pronate your drive.

  4. learn all Forearm pronated pitch types.

“I started training to gain velo this summer and have been lifting, gaining weight, long tossing and doing driveline.”

This is good accept none of these type organizations have proven to care about pathomechanical mitigation that is so important at all ages especially youth! They are primarily velocity oriented.

“June (start) - 6’2” 185lbs 80 mph, July - 6’2" 190 lbs 83 mph, October- 6’3" 200 lbs 85 mph,Shut down november to mid december, January - 6’3" 210 lbs 88 mph”

Fitness is a good thing done correctly! Sport specificity is the key here

Good luck, you have a lifetime of poor force application to mitigate. Any question just ask.

#5

Thanks for the insight.

I got an X-ray a few days ago which didn’t reveal any issues, but the doctor thinks it’s “Tommy John” which I think is a misinformed and premature diagnosis because the pain is not coming from the UCL area but rather where the elbow bone connects to the triceps. I got an MRI today which should tell me what’s up.

If I do have what you described I think I would only be at the bone splinting part because my x ray came back normal. And for treatment I was thinking of doing a PRP shot to help stimulate cartilage growth, get a elbow extension splint to strengthen my tendons as well as a general brace to limit movement as it heals, and do physical therapy. The maximum time I have to heal is two months as I need to get recruited this summer (start of June).

Also, do you know of any drills to help with the elbow pronation?

Thanks

#6

rhp245,

“Thanks for the insight.”

Any time, mitigation of pathomechanics should be the first concern with all coaches at all levels

“I got an X-ray a few days ago which didn’t reveal any issues”

Dr’s have a great opportunity to do it right by taking X-rays of both Elbows and compare. Unfortunately finances limit their effort as with all American medicine.

“The doctor thinks it’s “Tommy John” which I think is a misinformed and premature diagnosis because the pain is not coming from the UCL area but rather where the elbow bone connects to the triceps.”

You are correct, most general practitioners do not understand ballistic force application and their pathologies, even Ortho’s get much of it wrong due to lack of Kinesiological training.

They normally diagnose pain at the back of the Elbow as triceps tendonitis when with the traditional intuitive forearm pronated drive the Triceps are not even contracting, a major disruption in the Kinetic chain.

First, Ligaments do not have pain receptors, the pain that is felt in this medial Elbow area is always the overlying Flexor mass tendons that stretch out as ligament laxity (UCL) is produced. This why you see pitchers who have torn their UCL’s want to continue because it does not hurt so bad.

When you are intuitively caught up in Forearm supination pitch types the Flexor mass and pronator Terres that drives pronation are not helping to protect the UCL, because the antagonist Extensors are contracting!

When you forearm pronate your pitch types, the contraction of the Flexor mass assists in holding the Radius Towards the Ulna buttressing the UCL.

“I got an MRI today which should tell me what’s up.”

Prudent, but only with contrast will it be conclusive.

“I think I would only be at the bone splinting part because my x ray came back normal.”

It takes a long time to develop Spurs that break off.

“for treatment I was thinking of doing a PRP shot to help stimulate cartilage growth”
If you can afford it, good

“do physical therapy. The maximum time I have to heal is two months as I need to get recruited this summer (start of June).”

I would not rush anything, are you a Senior? Don’t listen to people in development Org’s tell you how it works for recruitment !!! Their only concern is how fat their wallet can grow. You may be biologically up to 2 years behind. have they gone over that with you? You need a re-mapping, this takes time.

“do you know of any drills to help with the elbow pronation?”

First you need to read DrMikeMarshall.com materials, they are free. Do not be concerned with his superior bottom half mechanics, the baseball establishment is not ready for it yet!
Do use his recommended stride lengths and timings!
Buy an appropriately sized rubber football and learn how to throw a screwball to start by tumbling it end over end, this will push you towards forearm pronation of other pitch types. Also throw a tight spiral by driving your thumb down while popping your Elbow up, this will teach you how to pronate Cutters and Sliders safely. Watch his pitch type video’s . This will get you started after your Dr’s release.

Good luck I will be here as long as I’m allowed to.