We recently had a question from one of our customers about their son experiencing extreme pain and weakness upon his first batting practice of the year. Was this an RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury)? 

This is a very common problem as we start the new year in our sport after a long layoff when our training may not been very diverse or we haven't trained at all. This is especially true in grip sports such as baseball golf and tennis. Most people do not train the hands and wrists and forearms over the winter or train using dumbells being gripped but never rotated. The result is strength only in neutral position and an inability to carry strength and stability when the forearm is tasked with grip and rotation. The weakness is exacerbated and pain and instability is common... Here is my response:

It sounds like it is highly possible that your son has experienced the case where the hand wrist and elbow are trained in one position habitually or repetitively - in other words not specifically for the actions involved in batting. Two examples that are common would be either repetitive gripping with the wrist in a one or two positions only during weight training, or for example repetitive computer use or gaming. Then, when the hand, wrist and elbow are expected to act with rotation during batting, your son finds there's no strength or stability outside this range  of motion. It is impossible to determine if this is the case with your son, but this is a likely scenario if he has not been batting regularly before this incident.

This is not a standard RSI by definition, but is certainly related to the concept of repetitive stress. RSI's usually refer to scenerios where one certain action is done repetitively and leads to an injury directly related to 'that' motion. I suspect that this is more a scenario where your son may have repetitively trained in one fashion and then asked his body to work outside that position where it hasn't been challenged and thus was not prepared. Make sense?

I highly suggest that he sees a healthcare professional with skill in extremity treatment and diagnosis. When exercise rehabilitation is appropriate, yes Handmaster Plus is made for exactly this role. It is designed to properly strengthen and balance the hand, wrist and elbow which are all key to grip and performance - especially in swinging motions like baseball, golf and tennis.

The healthcare professional can also decide if the muscles, tendons and joints are badly damaged or imbalanced in which case soft tissue techniques and joint adjusting should be the preferred initial treatment. Once the muscles, joints and tendons are healthy enough for exercise, Handmaster Plus it's perfect for retraining, re-strengthening and rebalancing. Please note that we highly suggest all baseball players no matter what position are using Handmaster Plus to train the hand, wrist & elbow to maximize performance and prevent these very same preventable injuries.

Let me know if I can assist further. Let us know how your son is doing...

Best,

Terry'

Readers, be very sure to train the hand through closing and opening as well as through supination and pronation to ensure that you don't train your hand wrist and elbow just on one repetitive plane. This will help you to prepare for your sport or music or activity that may require grip plus rotation so that you are prepared to be strong in many planes of activity.

Handmaster Plus makes hand, wrist & forearm exercise and training very easy combining many exercises into one and allowing the user to close the hand against the ball and open against the cord as well as rotate the forearm against resistance.

For more information, click the link: hand, wrist & forearm exerciser or visit www.doczac.com