Post-Game Recovery

I was wondering if you have any exercises that you use after a game to help pitchers recover?

This question comes from McKay!

Firstly, don’t undervalue the importance of actual rest. Sometimes the best way to recover is just to take a few days off and let your body heal itself.

If, for example, you’re the only pitcher on your team and you don’t have the luxury of a few days off in season, there are some more proactive things you can do to help:

• Be sure to ice any areas that bother you after physical activity
• Anti-inflammatory creams are helpful for a lot of people
• You can try soaking in an Epsom salt bath, or otherwise increasing your magnesium intake via supplements or topical creams. Magnesium is good for sore muscles. The bath is my favorite option because the warm water also helps.

As for exercises, try these:

• Restorative yoga can be helpful, especially on those days when you’re not necessarily nursing an injury but you’re just sore/stiff all over. You can wait till you get home at night to do it. OR, if you do have a couple of days off, it’s a good thing to do on the last day before you have to return to play. My favorite website for yoga instruction videos is doyogawithme.com. Here are 4 restorative videos varying in length: [1] [2] [3] [4]
• After a game or practice is a good time to do some of those deep static stretches… you know, the ones you eliminated from your warmup, right?

Also, if your school has an athletic trainer, take advantage of his or her resources and expertise!