Recovery from pitching

Question
I am a baseball player and also a captain of my teams pitching staff. I was wondering if first, you could explain to me why my elbow and shoulder/rotator cuff hurts after pitching. And second, if there are any foods that will reduce the acid in my blood stream or certain exercises/running routines that can help my muscles rebound quicker. If you could send me a list of foods or a list of exercises, that would help me create a new recovery program for all of my fellow pitchers. Thank you very much.

Answer
Hello  Mike!

Thank you for your nutrition questions.  The rotator cuff is a powerful tram of muscles connecting tendons.  These muscles and tendons attach your upper arm to your shoulder blade.  Your rotator cuff helps you reach, throw, push, pull, and lift.  Without it, your shoulder would be nearly useless.  A rotator cuff can heal.   

Why your Shoulder Hurts?
Your shoulder probably hurts because your rotator cuff tendons are swollen.  This could be caused by many things.  Maybe you strained it by doing too much reaching or lifting.  Maybe you threw one too many pitches. Putting ice on your shoulder can help reduce inflammation and pain.  Use a cold pack, a bag of frozen peas, or a towel filled with ice cubes for 15 to 20 minutes at a time.  Alternating heat with cold can also soothe your pain.  Try warm showers, hot packs, or a heating pad that uses moist heat.

Always stretch before and after you do strengthening exercises. The following website has a list of great exercises to stregthen your rotator cuff. http://familydoctor.org/265.xml
Stop any exercise that causes pain, and discuss it with your physical therapist.

The best foods to eat which can help your muscles repair and rebound would be protein foods such as beans, eggs, nuts, chicken, and fish. These foods arelow in acidity.

 There is also a great supplement which I highly recommend as a nutritionist.  It is called Juice Plus and I have seen great results from my athlete patients using it.  It contains the nutrients from 17 fruits and vegetables which are very beneficial to muscle health.  The website to purchase it for your team is http://www.juiceblend.com  Why not try it out and see if it improves your performance? Check out the website and let me know what you think. Hope this helps.

-George Rapitis, Nutritionist  

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