Almost every pitcher on the Cincinnati Reds staff has had to deal with an arm problem at some point in his career.

        The human arm wasn't meant to throw overhand.

        Dr. James Andrews, the famed orthopedic surgeon, says the speed of a hard-throwing pitcher's arm — from the cocked position behind the head to the point of release — is that of an airplane propeller.

        There is nothing else in sport to approximate it.

        Dr. Timothy Kremchek, the Reds' medical director and chief orthopedic surgeon, confirms his mentor's analogy and adds that the real stress on the arm that produces a 90-mph fastball comes from the pitcher having to stop his arm at the end of that motion. The arm can't just keep going 'round and 'round like a fan blade.

        The key — whether it be in strength training, surgery on a damaged arm or in rehabbing from an injury — is to strike the proper balance in the arm muscles so they aren't too tight to throw or so loose that they result in injury, Kremchek said.

        No wonder almost every big-league pitcher has had an arm problem.

ARM-AGEDDON
Reds Pitcher/Past or Present Problem John Riedling/Rotator Cuff Seth Etherton/Labral Tear Danny Graves/Partial Rotator Cuff Tear Chris Reitsma/Fractured elbow Scott Sullivan/Elbow Tendinitis Jose Rijo/Four major elbow surgeries Lance Davis/Shoulder Tendinitis Hector Mercado/Tommy John surgery Scott McRae/Elbow tendinitis

       It is part of the reason why — as part of a two-day seminar next month at Cintas Center, featuring Don Gullett, Johnny Bench, Aaron Boone, Chris Welsh and Billy Doran — there is a session titled ...

        Strength Program for the Overhead Athlete with Focus on the Rotator Cuff/Scapular: Dumbbells, Theraband (and) Weight Training.

Sounds like a mouthful (or at least an armful), doesn't it?

        That's because it is.

        “Understanding baseball injuries is something we in sports medicine haven't begun to do until the last 10 years or so,” Kremchek said. “We understood the contact sports, but, for example, not pitching mechanics, the elbow and shoulder. ... It dawned on me: "Let's have a baseball course, and bring in some guys who know the baseball aspect of it, and bring in some people who know the medical aspect of it.' ”

        The result? A two-day seminar, “Sports Medicine Baseball Symposium,” Feb. 1-2.

        It is designed for coaches of all levels, physical therapists and their assistants, trainers and strength-conditioning specialists and physician assistants and other health professionals.

        For information, call 513 956-5060.

        Kremchek believes that 70 percent of arm injuries to high school pitchers could be avoided through proper strength-training, conditioning and a watchful eye of coaches and trainers.

        Feb. 1: There will be six 40-minute morning sessions, including Bench on “Inside Catching” and Welsh on “Biomechanical Overview of Pitching” — before a series of eight, 50-minute “breakout lectures” are conducted in the afternoon, from which the registrants can choose four. Among these are fast-pitch softball lectures, “evaluation of a player's potential” by Reds farm director Tim Naehring and a series of sessions by doctors, trainers and physical therapists.

        Feb. 2: There will be three 40-minute morning sessions, among them “At the Plate: The How To's of Hitting” by Boone, and then six, 50-minute, early-afternoon sessions (from which the registrants can choose three), including “Fielding Skills,” by Doran, and “How To's of Pitching” by Gullett. In the late afternoon, registrants can choose a two-hour course on the “Hands On Practice and Demonstration of Special Tests,” or a three-hour course on CPR and the automated external defibrillator.

        The Enquirer felt it would be beneficial for young pitchers and coaches to hear the oral histories of two Reds pitchers, one of whom is fully healthy (starter Chris Reitsma) and the other who is rehabbing from shoulder surgery (reliever John Riedling):

        Reitsma, 24, 6-foot-5, 214-pound right-hander. Born in Minneapolis, resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Signed out of Calgary Christian High School by Boston Red Sox and began his pro career in 1996. In 1997, he fractured his elbow while pitching in Single-A ball.

        “Lonnie Soloff (the Reds' physical therapist) developed a program for all of us. I'm doing a lot of (rubber) tubing and a lot of 3- to 5-pound weights. I work certain angles from the shoulder. I also do a lot of long toss, basically to keep the muscles stretched out and strong ... in the whole rotator cuff area. I also do some stuff for the elbow. Most of the tubing stuff is for the shoulder, although some of it is for the elbow, from certain angles, and to strengthen the forearm. For my elbow, I work with grip weights. I put my fingers way apart and move my fingers up and down with the weight to strengthen (the elbow).

        “Lonnie is a shoulder guy. I follow his shoulder workout verbatim. He's got us going through a lot of different exercises, probably seven or eight with free weights and another seven or eight with tubing. Per day, it takes me 15 to 30 minutes. I'm at the gym two hours a day (total, including work on) my legs and core. I don't want to get too big in the upper body, because it negates range of motion.

        “I do a lot of running and stuff for cardiovascular. Lonnie doesn't do a lot of strength stuff besides the shoulder and elbow, so for the rest of the body, for strength, I talk to (former Reds conditioning coordinator) Lance Sewell. I do a lot of leg stuff and core stuff. The key is to find things that work for you, things that you like doing, as long as you are working in those areas.

        “The first two months — November and December — I do a lot of strength stuff, getting strong with heavy weights. As spring training approaches, I back off a few pounds on the free weights.

        “I started throwing January 1. Before that, November and December, I didn't touch a ball. ..I build up my strength before I ever get on the mound. I like doing "quick-feet' drills, especially after I begin throwing.”

        Riedling, 25, 5-11, 190, right-hander. Born in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., resides in Pompano Beach, Fla. Signed by the Reds out of Ely High School in Pompano Beach in the 22nd round of the June 1994 free-agent draft. He underwent shoulder surgery in September.

        “I had my shoulder cleaned out. There was a tear in the labrum; it's not uncommon. Gravy (Reds pitcher Danny Graves) had a tear, and he had the same procedure. I'd been going to therapy four days a week, and now I'm down to three. I'm throwing from 45 feet. By next week, I'll be up to 60 feet (the distance from the mound to the plate).

        “I was in Cincinnati last week, and they were surprised how strong (the shoulder) was. I've had all my tests done, and they think I have a really good opportunity to break (spring training) camp (with the big club in early April). All my test scores are high — my flexibility is really good ...

        “I do a lot of leg work. I have a friend who went to school to train upper-level athletes. His name is Dominic Lucibello, out of Wellington, Florida, and he has shown me some great things. After working with him, I felt so strong that I can't believe I had an injury last year. My legs and arm were stronger than ever.

        “I cut back on the upper-body weights I was doing and increased the work I was doing on my legs. I long-toss every other day, and then, around the middle of January, I get on the mound, and I shoot for having six good sessions on the mound before spring training.

        “I've talked to guys (coming off shoulder surgery), and they all say the same thing: "It's all in your head — the back of your head. You just have to work your way through it.' I know I'll be ready, what with all the work I've done. I'm getting mentally ready not to think about my arm and to just go out there and throw.

        “I'm doing the extra things, a lot of medicine ball, a lot of core stuff, working on my glutes and mid-section, and a lot of running.”

Here's hope: Young arms Online with John Fay What imbalance? A hello to arms Baseball notebook

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