How to treat a bruised triceps – Matt Harrison

how-to-treat-a-bruised-triceps-matt-harrison-photoMatt Harrison is having a pretty cruddy 2011. First, he was savaged by kidney stones. Now, he’s experienced a bruised triceps. No, not a good start to 2011. He was pulled from his start against the Minnesota Twins after Danny Valencia nailed him with a line drive. As a true professional, Matt played the ball, but Danny was safe at first.

Michael Young, the Rangers first baseman, said of the play:

He apologized, said he couldn’t get it over there because his arm was numb. Pretty good reason. He battled. He was throwing the ball really well.

We’ve discussed torn triceps before, but never bruised triceps.

Can you play baseball with a pulled hamstring – Bartolo Colon

No.

I hate sites that don’t answer simple questions. So, no, you cannot play baseball with a pulled hamstring. Stick around a little bit and I’ll explain.

Bartolo Colon is a pitcher for the Yankees and his 2011 season is going pretty good given he’s a pitcher in the American league. The problem is his hamstring. He strained it, pulled it and is headed to the 15 day disabled list.

What is your hamstring? Running behind your knee, it is a group of muscles that go from your thigh to your calf. They are strong, very fibrous muscles that allow you flex and bend your leg.

How long to recover from a bruised knee – Allen Craig

Allen Craig is having an awesome season with the St. Louis Cardinals, so it was a bummer he bruised his knee. Allen did it on an all out play for a foul ball, smashing into a gate. It was padded, but the damage was done.

We’ve talked about treating a bone bruise before, but Allen’s injury is a little different.It should take him about two weeks to bounce back to full health.

He’s suffering from a knee bruise on the front of his knee with very little tibia or femur involvement, but mostly patella related. The trauma of smashing the patella into the metal is what causes the bruising.

how-long-to-recover-from-a-bruised-knee-allen-craig-photo

The bruising is swelling and a pooling of blood in the damaged tissue, so you’ll be affected in the following ways:

How is your back used in a baseball swing – Hanley Ramirez

how-is-your-back-used-in-a-baseball-swing-hanley-ramirez-photoHanley Ramirez is going to the disabled list with a back injury. Although we’ve covered back injuries before, I thought it would be cool to look at how the back is used when you swing a baseball bat.

Hanley is having an awful year at the plate, so it is interesting that the back can play such a pivotal role in swinging  a bat.

There is a great degree of physics and physiology that goes into the batting swing, but we’re going to look at what specifically happens to a person’s back when they swing the bat.

Can you play with kidney stones – Matt Harrison

can-you-play-with-kidney-stones-matt-harrison-photoMatt Harrison of the Texas Rangers is playing pretty well this season, but he’s sidelined by the nastiest, meanest, most painful injury a baseball player, heck, any player can deal with. Kidney Stones.

The pain started last Friday and he went to the hospital that night. As Matt said:

With my luck, I’d go out there and it would want to pass in the first inning. I felt like I was dying when I woke up.

Kidney stones are no joke and you won’t be able to play with them. The pain is literally crippling and affects every part of your game.

How to deal with snakebit teams and injuries – Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are in a bad place right now. Not only do they have the league’s worst record, but they also sport the most people on the disabled list.

The latest news to hit the Minnesota Twins is the ushering of Jim Thome and Jason Kubel to the disabled list for 15 days. For Jim Thome this is his second trip this year and for Jason Kubel it is the first trip this season.

Still, this has been a year of horrors for the Minnesota Twins:

  • 13 placements on the disabled list.
  • 8 current players on the disabled list.
  • Their best player on the disabled list.

The whole situation has gotten Ron Gardenhire, the Twins manager, down in the dumps:

How unappreciation affects athletes – Ozzie Guillen

Yes, I am aware that unappreciation isn’t really a word … or maybe it is, who knows. What I do know is that Chicago White Sox manager, Ozzie Guillen is very unappreciative about his circumstances.

Today we found out that Ozzie Guillen thinks:

  • Most coaches don’t have the passion to be managers.
  • Coffee pots are manufactured to be smashed.
  • In 15 years he will be in a wheelchair.
  • Fans don’t appreciate him.

Odd. You would think that the man whose position is paid for by the people he’s criticizing would be appreciative. You know, there are only 30 of his positions in the whole world, so you would think he’d get with the program. I have no idea why he went off like he did, but he has a history of it.

Baseball physical abuse – Buster Posey

baseball-physical-abuse-buster-posey-photoOn May 25, 2011, Buster Posey‘s world was turned upside down, literally. He was steamrolled at home plate by Scott Cousins of the Marlins. The hit was legal and effective, as Posey couldn’t handle the ball and Cousins was safe.

Today it was reported that Posey has a broken bone in his leg and that he will miss some time. Toss in possible knee ligament damage and he’s looking at missing the entire 2011 season.

The rookie of the year last year, Posey had a feeling something like this would happen. In an article in USA Today a few days ago, Posey commented on the increasing number of times he;s been tagged by foul balls:

Oh, one week it’s the physical part, the next week it’s the mental side.

How to treat a sprained finger ligament – Alex White

how-to-treat-a-sprained-finger-ligament-alex-white-photoAlex White is a productive, young pitcher, so it was a bummer to the Indians that he has gone on the disabled list. His season has been positive, but he’s stricken with a sprained finger ligament.

The fingers are critical for pitching since they control the spin and rotation of the ball as it is released. The whole pitching motion generates the speed the ball reaches, but the fingers control the movement.

Alex hurt his finger on May 21, 2011, but stayed in the game. It was only after the game that everyone become concerned. An MRI was ordered and the bad new delivered.

White said:

How to prevent forearm strains – Nick Punto

how-to-prevent-forearm-strains-nick-punto-photoNick Punto is not a happy fellow. He finally makes it into the normal rotation of players with the Cardinals and he ends up hurt. He’s got a strained forearm and it’s got him a little down:

To be out there playing a little bit timid, I think that was the red flag for the medical staff. I was worried about my next hard throw.

Bummer.

We know about forearms here The Disabled List. Still, it seems like unless it is broken, you can do something to prevent forearm injuries. Yep, you can.

Here are the top three things to do to prevent forearm injuries: