Monday, March 23, 2009

The SICK Scapula


Take a look at the right scapula:
Scapular Malposition
Tender Coracoid Process
Prominent Inferior Angle
Scapular Dyskinesis
Downwardly rotated to boot.
Kibler took a lot of poetic license on the SICK scapula term.
This is our JV catcher, met him for the first time today with complaints of a "popping" R shoulder during throwing/batting. He is anteriorly unstable. He has barely done any throwing, it is the pre-season. A lot of the stuff we see on the high school level are remnants of poorly designed programs of the past. 12 year olds playing on 3 different little league teams. Physical education is 3 hours a week with the personal trainer. Now it is our problem.
High school ATC's, let's make sure the buck stops with us. Let's not send them up to the college or minor leagues with this stuff. The baseball player's back should be ripped by the time you get through with them. The thrower's 10 is fine to milk out post game soreness, but you'll need to be a lot more creative to fix these. To be continued...

5 comments:

KP said...

Spot on Joe. The throwers 10 won't help this kind of situation in the least, in fact will probably on increase his pain. Can't to see what you have to say on scapular stabilization exercises. Because I see this problem every spring (including 2-3 right now) at the small college level.

Unknown said...

thanks joe for this post. I have an athlete who plays water polo, basketball and swims with exactly these symptoms. I can't wait to see what you have to say.

Tracy Fober said...

Have an adult semi-pro v-ball dude with the same issue--in his 30s. SICK is right. Needs much more than RTC isolation stuff. Cannot wait for the discussion.

JH said...

Joe,

Looking forward to seeing how you incorporate the lower 2/3rds of the kinetic chain in this rehab plan.

I'm assuming you are looking to use the transverse plane mainly? *(if it's pain free)

VB Mom said...

Hello! I am actually a parent of a soon to be colege vollyball player with SICK scapula. Your blog has given me a lot of information and has helped me understand the doctors diagnosis. She has been told to do 6 months physical therapy but most therapy locations have no idea what I am talking about when I mention SICK scapula. One therapy location thinks there is nothing wrong with her, we just want to strengthen her shoulder. Could you please help me? What phrases or wording should I use to find the right place for my daughter? Thank you for any suggestions!