"Sleeper" stretch helps young baseball players

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For kids who play baseball, a simple stretching exercise can help curb pain and tightness in their throwing arm, according to research presented Wednesday at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons annual meeting in New Orleans.

The "sleeper" stretching exercise, which is best performed after a game or practice, involves the player lying on their side and then rotating the arm at the shoulder joint and holding this position for 30 seconds. This exercise, which is repeated 10 times, can be performed alone or, preferably, with an assistant.

Young pitchers and catchers often experience tightness of a shoulder ligament known as the posterior-inferior glenohumeral ligament. If this ligament is not stretched, it may become increasingly tighter and more prone to pain or injury.

Among more than 1200 baseball players between 7 and 15 years old, Dr. Charles Metzger from Greater Houston Orthopedic Specialists and colleagues found that nearly 15 percent reported pain in their throwing arm, and nearly 21 percent had evidence of arm tightness. Pitchers were about twice as likely as fielders to have excessive arm tightness, but only 13 percent more likely than catchers.

The investigators taught 58 ballplayers with excessive shoulder tightness how to perform the "sleeper" stretching exercise, and at follow-up, nearly 97 percent of them who performed the stretch properly and consistently reported shoulder improvement.

The "sleeper" stretch is done after play and since it is different from the general stretches players already know, it must be taught, Metzger noted in a written statement from the meeting. "Once learned, however, it is very simple, and takes only five minutes to complete."

Metzger supports Safe Throw, an injury-prevention and rapid return-to-play program. Instructions and diagrams showing how to perform the "sleeper" stretch can be found on www.safethrow.com.