3DPT presents our Patient of the Month for April, Arianna Gerber

3DPT would like to congratulate Arianna Gerber on being our most recent patient of the month. Arianna is a junior at Shawnee High School who is recovering from the three letters an athlete fears most: ACL. Arianna has committed herself to getting back on the soccer field and has been a great example to other patients in the clinic in demonstrating the hard work that is required to recover from this injury. Thanks Arianna (and mom, Carolyn) for being so dedicated to your recovery – we know you will be back on the field again soon!

3DPT:   Tell us about how you were injured?

I was injured going in for a 50/50 ball.  When we both made contact with the ball, the other girl pushed through my leg and everything from the knee down twisted to the outside.

3DPT:   How did you prepare yourself for ACL surgery?

I honestly didn't think much about preparing for ACL surgery.  I knew I was in good hands with Dr. Deluca and that the surgery would be the real beginning to my recovery. Physically I spent weeks in physical therapy before surgery strengthening all the muscles around my knee so I was as strong as possible right out of the gate.

3DPT:    What has been the hardest part of your therapy since you had your surgery?

The hardest part of therapy since my surgery is watching other girls play soccer and commit to colleges.

3DPT:    Tell us where you are at with your therapy – what types of things are you able to do now?

I'm 5 months out of surgery.  I'm able to run straight ahead and do strengthening exercises such as squatting, lunging, balancing, deadlifts, skipping, and ladders.  Cutting and pivoting starts after April 30th.

3DPT:    What are you most looking forward to when you return to the field?

When I return to the field, I am most looking forward to being back on the field with my teammates and working off of each other as one unit.

3DPT:    Do you prefer to watch men’s soccer or women’s soccer and why?

I prefer to watch men's soccer because it seems quicker paced than women's soccer.

3DPT:    What is your ideal dinner the night before a big game?

My favorite meal before a big game is lots of pasta with chicken.

3DPT:    What has been your favorite part of coming to physical therapy?

My favorite part of coming to 3DPT has been meeting amazing people who have become a big part of my life and who are helping me achieve my dream of playing again.

Youth Pitch Count Limits

Arm fatigue is the number one cause of shoulder and elbow injuries in youth baseball players. Many athletes play on multiple teams in the spring and summer, so it is even more important to know and understand the limitations on pitches per day and the recommended rest breaks in between pitching. These limits apply for ALL teams that an athlete plays for, so if an athlete pitches for their school team, they should follow the recommended rest before they pitch again for either the school or the travel team.

Image from Wikipedia.org

Throwing a pitch is one of the more biomechanically complicated movements in sports. Pitch counts are even more important for youth pitchers because they often lack the leg and core strength to pitch effectively, and wind up placing too much stress on the arm to throw. A trained physical therapist, coach or pitching coach, athletic trainer, physician, or personal trainer can take an athlete through a throwing assessment to determine any areas of weakness or tightness that can be worked on ahead of time to minimize the risk of injury.

The following pitch count and recommended rest comes from Littleleague.org:

Pitch Count

Age	Pitches per day
17-18	105 pitches per day
13-16	95
11-12	85
9-10	75
7-8	50

*Any athlete throwing more than 41 pitches in a game should not play catcher in the same game*

 

Recommended rest

Pitchers league age 14 and under

Number of pitches in a day	Calendar days of rest before next time pitching
66 or more	Four (4) days of rest
51-65	Three (3) days of rest
36-50	Two (2) days of rest
21-35	One (1) day of rest
1-20	No (0) days of rest

Pitchers league age 15-18

Number of pitches in a day	Calendar days of rest before next time pitching
76 or more	Four (4) days of rest
61-75	Three (3) days of rest
46-60	Two (2) days of rest
31-45	One (1) day of rest
1-30	No (0) days of rest

Image from thecompletepitcher.com

Ken Guzzardo, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS

3 Dimensional Physical Therapy

kguzzardo@3dpt.com

Congratulations to Sean Heslin – 3DPT’s patient of the month for February

We would like to thank Sean Heslin for all of the hard work he has put into his physical therapy over the past 2 months. He committed to the hard work it would require to allow him to be able to recover in time for his spring baseball season at Shawnee.  He is on track to be on the field when baseball starts in a few weeks. Congratulations Sean!

3DPT: Tell us about your injury that brought you to physical therapy:

SEAN HESLIN: I was hurt playing basketball and I landed on someone’s foot and rolled my ankle. I knew something was wrong right away. It ended up that I suffered a torn tendon in my foot and damaged the ligaments on the outside of my ankle. I was in a boot for 2 weeks and started physical therapy once I was out of the boot.

3DPT: What was the hardest part of your therapy in the early stages?

SH: Not being able to trust my ankle to be as strong as it normally is. Simple things like going down stairs and walking normally were hard to do and really frustrating.

3DPT: How did your therapy prepare you to return to baseball?

SH: I gained more confidence in my ankle with all of the exercises and agility drills that Andrea had me do. Each week I was doing something harder than the week before so my therapy never got boring. I looked forward to each session because I knew that is what was getting me closer to playing baseball this spring.

3DPT: Did you ever have doubts about being able to play spring baseball this year?

SH: I did in the beginning of my therapy – I couldn’t even walk without limping so baseball seemed really far away.  As I kept progressing each week I knew I would be able to pull it off.

3DPT: If you could take 3 baseball players, past or present, on a weekend road trip, who would it be?

SH: Chase Utley, Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout

3DPT: What is your ideal meal the night before a game?

SH: Chicken and rice – my mom is a great cook

3DPT: How many bombs are you going to hit this year for Shawnee? 
SH: I’m hoping for a couple.

Jeff Sallade, PT, MSPT, OCS, SCS, CSCS

Ken Guzzardo, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS

Andrea Johnson, PT, DPT

Ryan McDevitt, PT, DPT

Leah Guzzardo, PT, DPT, PCS

3 Dimensional Physical Therapy

175 Route 70, Suite 19

Medford, NJ 08055

(609) 714-3378

www.3dpt.com