Dead Arm

by John
(Austin, Texas, United States)

In high school, I played baseball and was a pitcher. While I was never diagnosed with any arm problems, during my senior season I noticed that my arm would not recover as quickly after days in which I pitched.
However, after graduating I never really noticed any pain because I stopped throwing a baseball.

About three years after graduating I began to notice that my right arm would become easily fatigued from what seemed like simple tasks. My entire arm would feel weak just from taking notes in class or from holding my hand above my head. I had been throwing a baseball, but nothing like when I used to throw in high school.

I went to see a medical trainer and was diagnosed with tendonitis in my shoulder. Basically it was causing sharp pain in my right bicep and shoulder weakness. He prescribed rest and ice at first, and then moved me into strengthening drills for my shoulder. These included rubber bands, stretches, and light throwing. After about a month or so after I first noticed the pain most of it had subsided. I was able to throw a baseball and do all other daily tasks without any more arm fatigue.

Now I make sure to always stretch before throwing and to always ice my arm afterwards. This has proven to be instrumental in not having another struggle with tendonitis.