It’s that time of year when a lot of pitchers tend to get dead arm. Maybe you notice it in your off-season throwing routines. Or bullpen sessions. It happens even to pros.
So how have you been successful in overcoming it? Your response could be helpful for others who are going through it … or will go through it as the season approaches in Spring.
Ive Defeinently noticed the dead arm effect. I try to not throw as much during the week but i still get my work in. Fall Ball has been 7 weeks but all on saturday so i kinda have a set schedule to know when to be ready by.
Could you go more in depth with what you mean by dead arm plz steven? I dont quite know what that is
It when your arm just feels drained. Like no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get any pop. The ball feels big and heavy.
Well if your season is over until next spring, just shut down for a few months.
Don’t lift for 2 or 3 weeks. But stay in shape by running,
Then start lifting again.
After 2 months of not throwing, if you still have dead arm, you may want to get an MRI there may be something wrong.
If your in season, the only thing i can think of is just try to throw through it, or skip a start.
I know its not as simple as “just shut down for a few months”, but this is what mode i’m in now.
“Dead arm”, as I see it, is nothing more nor less than fatigue, and the only thing to do about it is just rest—don’t do any throwing for several weeks, so as to give the old soupbone (as they used to call it) a chance to recover. You can run or do some other things to stay in shape, but leave that arm alone for a month or so. Then you can start easing back into throwing. I never had that problem, but I’ve known pitchers who have experienced it, and so this is what I’ve told them.
One cause of “dead arm” (or, as I prefer to call it, “fatigued arm”) is just plain overthrowing, especially if one is a confirmed fireballer with not much other stuff. I’ve seen pitchers—and most of them, by the way, are starters—who have a blazing fast ball and very little else, not even a changeup—who keep firing it in there, and they tend to overthrow after a while, and if this keeps up of course the arm is going to yell at you “Whoa!” And it’s only the dumbest of dumb clucks who refuse to listen. 8) :baseballpitcher:
hey steve,
how did you overcome it?
or how would you overcome it?
i rest for a few weeks, sometimes more. And while i am resting a get “Stim” treatment at the trainer 3-5 days a week.
This way has never missed for me.
dead arm as i understand it is that tired achy feeling you get especially in that area between your biceps and triceps on the inside of the arm. you wanna be able to throw the ball like normal but it just aint there! i’ve heard many pros get it in spring training also. it just means your arm has been taxed past what it has been trained to do. that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to shut it down for a couple weeks. in fact i’ve heard this is where you can make strides in your arm strength, if you approach it correctly. similar to lifting and fatiguing a particular muscle group and then letting it recover.
what i’ve found personally is that if i don’t throw or lift my arms for a couple days and do some good long runs each day to “milk” the arm that it begins to feel better. that feeling comes from built up lactic acid in the arm, so you have to flush it out. also when you start throwing again, make sure you have a good post throwing program, whether you run, ice, both, etc.
just make sure you don’t stop throwing throughout the fall/ winter. this is a great time to make strides in your mechanics and strength. maybe the most important time in your training. if you just shut it down for the winter, you’ll be sure to develop the same dead arm in early spring.
Found this thread while trying to figure out reason for 2-3 mph drop in velocity for 14 yr old. Posted earlier asking if it could be lack of long toss. He has no pain whatsoever and movement & control is still there; he does say he just doesn’t feel like he can “put as much on it”. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it with him but want to make sure he’s doing the right thing. He has a few tournaments coming up & not sure whether to have him rest for a week before the next one or mabye longer? This would be totally opposite of what we were considering which is throwing more. Any input would be appreciated.
What’s his throwing schedule like?
Saw the other thread glad he’s back to where he was.
Normally takes about 6 week break between summer and fall baseball and about two months between ball and first of year. Does two throwing & bullpen sessions a week with instructor starting first of year. Tries to get outdoors a couple of days a week to throw & long toss weather permitting. league practice started in March and cut down one session with instructor. Practiced outdoors twice per week and indoors two or three times per week. Fit in long toss & throwing in outdoor practice & normally tried to get out on own additional day of the week. Season started in April and team did no further outdoor practice but continued to practice three days per week indoors as well as two game per week schedule. Moved back to two sessions per week with instructor due to small facility. Length only allowed 51 ft bullpen & instructor though counter productive. Had pitched 60.5 through summer season last year & fall. League is 54 feet which was an adjustment. Due to rain games were moved around during week so only suitable days to get outside were either games or team was indoors practicing; really cut down on throwing and almost all but eliminated long toss. Season has been over three weeks now and travel has started. Team practices twice per week. We’ve had tournaments two out of three weekends. Practices include lots of throwing and long toss; have one scrimmage game per week which he always gets one or two innings on the mound. Coach requires warm ups and running prior to every practice, scrimmage and game. Played six games this past weekend so he definitely got plenty of throwing in. Goal is to throw 5 times per week with 3 long toss sessions, 2 bullpens (one is with pitching instructor & count scrimmage game as bullpen); past three weeks have been no problem. Problem with league is he threw less than he did on his own. Travel is also back to 60.5 feet.