Soon baseball players will be reporting for pre-season throwing workouts and it won’t be too long before the season is in full swing.  Many throwers will see their hard work pay off, but unfortunately others will see the disabled list.  In an attempt to prepare athletes for a safer season, Athletes’ Training Center is offering a free injury screen for baseball players of all age.  Athletes and their parents are invited to visit the facility between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Saturday, January 9th to receive a comprehensive free injury screen.

Travis Manners, physical therapist at Athletes’ Training Center, serves as a consultant for the Milwaukee Brewers.  He sees two fundamental causes of arm injuries:  poor throwing mechanics and shoulder muscle imbalance.  Fortunately, both are preventable. The injury screen will look at musculoskeletal contributions to shoulder problems such as GIRD issues (glenohumeral internal rotation deficits), scapular dyskinesia (difficult movement) and imbalance in the rotator cuff.  “Ideally, we'd like the muscles on the back of the shoulder to be about two-thirds as strong as those on the front, but often we find muscle atrophy in the rear muscles," Manners explained.  "By screening for some of these conditions, we can see pretty quickly what's going on with the shoulder during the throwing motion."  Manners also noted that elbow problems are often a byproduct of shoulder problems.

Additional information about the free injury screen can be found at www.atcomaha.com or by contacting 402-932-7111 or info@atcomaha.com.  Athletes’ Training Center is located in the Millard Area at 138th and Industrial Road.