I train mostly kids who play volleyball, baseball, and softball and 90% of the time during and after the season they will come to me with a bum shoulder. Generally speaking they will say “do you have any stretches for my shoulder, it really hurts”. Most teenage kids 11-18 don’t have any kind of mobility or flexibility issues, its generally a strength issue. Many girls this age tend to be hypermobile, meaning their joints are too flexible. Hitting in Volleyball and throwing in baseball and softball is pretty similar in the fact that it requires your arm to go overhead and have a violent downward motion. (see picture above)
In order for you arm to move overhead properly your shoulder blades must move out and up. While the shoulder is moving up the rotator cuff muscles job is to keep the arm attached to the shoulder. If the rotator cuff is weak, it doesn’t do a very good job with this. If you swing or throw 100 times in a given day and your rotator cuff or scapula isn’t doing its job, you are going to end up with an achy shoulder. Stretching your shoulder in this instance may do more harm than good.
The other thing that needs to happen for the arms to move overhead properly is the core muscles need to stabilize or create stiffness to allow the arms to move overhead without arching your back. This is why your back may be hurting especially after a volleyball game or practice. In order to get overhead, the body will compensate by arching the low back. Again “stretching” your back out will not alleviate this problem. Creating a strong, stable core will help.
For shoulder strength I recommend following a structured workout program outside of the season 3-4x per week and also 1-2x per week in season. The problem I see a lot is kids in these sports tend to play all year round or close to all year round. Most programs only include conditioning exercises and “jump training”** It would be beneficial to take 3-4 months off and build a strength base as well as allow the muscles you use in the sports to heal. Every good program should include rotator cuff and core strengthening drills. I like to use core stabilizing exercises as opposed to flexion based exercises. I have included 3 of my favorite rotator cuff strength exercises in the video below.
**Jump training is gimmicky way for volleyball coaches to make you think you will jump higher.
I recently had a volleyball player come to me for strength training. When I did her initial movement screen she would rotate her shoulder to 90 degrees, any point past that would produce pain. This was her body guarding against a rotator cuff or labrum tear. Think if she was playing volleyball and swinging 50-100x how much pain that would produce. After working on a strength program with me for 3 months we retested her and she was able to get to 110 degrees of shoulder rotation without any pain. Think about how much that will help when she gets back to her skill work and volleyball season.
3 rotator cuff exercises
- Side lying external rotation-elevate the shoulder with a towel, too light is better than too heavy. Use a plate or a dumbbell.
- 1/2k landmine press-I like this to get the shoulder blade out and up overhead. I also like this for core strength as well, double wammy. This can also be done with a dumbbell.
- 90 degree BU KB walk-A little unorthodox but really forces the rotator cuff to stabilize in an overhead position.
For any questions regarding sport training don’t hesitate to contact me
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