Rehabilitation of the throwing shoulder

Rehabilitation of the injured throwing arm should not be directed simply toward beginning strengthening exercises and returning the athlete to throwing as soon as possible. The total comprehensive program has been described and consists of seven phases that begin with making the proper diagnosis of a shoulder injury. Once the proper diagnosis is made, the pathophysiology of throwing injuries has to be understood by the physician, the trainer, and the athlete, and then the actual treatment begins in phase III. Initial treatment many times consists of a short period of relative rest as well as physical therapy modalities to relieve pain, and once pain is relieved phase IV begins, which is the actual techniques of range of motion, flexibility, and strengthening maneuvers. Once adequate flexibility, range of motion, and pain-free motion have been achieved, as well as adequate endurance strength, proper warm-up techniques are begun, and then a return to throwing is achieved in phase VI. The total rehabilitative cycle is concluded with phase VII, which consists of an off-season conditioning program to verify that the athlete will maintain year-round maximum condition of not only the throwing shoulder but of the entire athlete.