Child a Softball Pitcher with a Wrist Hurting All the Time? Some Things That Could Be Wrong
If your child is a fast-pitch pitcher in softball, this puts a lot of work on their arms, wrists, and legs. Over time, they may start to feel pain from pitching. If your child is feeling pain in their wrist, you need to determine the cause. Below are two reasons this could be happening to help you get started.
Overuse
When your child pitches, they use their legs to step out to give the ball speed, swing their arm around, and then release the ball with their wrist in different ways to give the ball movement. Over time, this puts a lot of stress on these muscles and can end up in injury. Even more stress is put on the muscles if your child does not pitch in the right way. For this reason, make sure they have the proper training.
If your child is the main pitcher on their team and pitches too much, this could be an overuse injury. Take them out of the game for a couple of weeks to see whether the pain goes away. Put ice on the wrist and give your child a mild pain reliever. Let them start pitching again slowly to see whether the pain comes back. Only let them pitch one or two games per week, and make sure someone relieves them for the last couple of innings of every game they pitch.
Carpal-Tunnel Syndrome
Someone can get carpal-tunnel syndrome from doing something repetitive, such as typing at a keyboard. The pain may start out slowly and get worse over time. Your child's wrist may throb much like a headache and hurt when they flex. They will likely feel pain when they move their wrist around.
If your child has these symptoms, take them to the doctor immediately. The doctor will likely be able to treat the condition without surgery if your child gets treatment early. The doctor may do an MRI to help them determine whether carpal-tunnel syndrome is the cause of their pain. If the condition is advanced enough, you may need to make an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon, such as one at Surgery Center of Kenai, to have the problem treated through surgery.
The doctor will prescribe your child an anti-inflammatory medication to help them with the pain. They may put their wrist in a brace to restrict movement and give it time to heal. Their doctor will determine how long they will need the brace. When the treatment is over, ask the doctor's advice on whether your child should go back to pitching, and if so, how much they should pitch.
If your child continues to feel pain, their doctor will likely refer them to an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in wrists to help with this problem, which may require surgery.
If your child does not get a proper warm-up before a game, this can cause injury. Make sure they get to the game early enough to do this.
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