Injuries

D-ROCK13

Well-Known Member
Both rotator cuffs, both calves, right hammy, both quads, right achilles tendon, & too many balls off fat or bone to remember. Luckily all of those were minor and not actual tears.

Worst on the field, I was pitching and took a rocket liner off the inside of right shin, gold dot extreme, in cooler weather. Woke the next day and my entire leg and foot was almost black/blood colored. 3 weeks later i took a middle shot off the exact same spot, and blew the skin open. I despise pitching directly into the sun... 5 years later and that spot still gets sore and tender sometimes and is discolored...

Only remedy i got is stay safe, play ball, and enjoy life :D
 

Spackler

...got that goin for me
Slid into 2nd with arm trailing and popped out left shoulder and tore labrum..... had surgery and out for a year
 

jhitman

Well-Known Member
I have a torn meniscus now. I still play. Massaging the muscle around the medial part of knee helps. Ice after I play helps calm it down. I'm targeting October for a partial knee replacement......Hope your calf heals fast!!!!!

I have a slightly torn meniscus as well. I have been playing through it all season with a combination of DH'ing and playing some in the field on nights where there wasn't as much pain. The Doc said I need 4-6 weeks of rest, ice and exercising it. After the Fall season stops I will do that. It's definitely getting better as I have cut my play this Fall to just 1 night. It sucks to get old.
 

blakcherry329

Well-Known Member
Never had any major injuries from any sport I played, luckily. I did pull both hamstrings in one season back in the early 90s. Again, not a bad pull more like a strain of both. I had one incident like the one that took out Muncy on the Dodgers. Luckily the runner was a smaller guy and he took the worst of it and my elbow just hyperextended a bit, but no lasting damage.
Now I'm just dealing with years of playing football later in life at 100-150lbs heavier than I am now. I'm going to get an MRI on my knees to get a diagnoses and course of action to get back to playing semi-pain free softball. I'm not sure if I need knee replacements, but if the doctor say I do, I'm all in.
 

blakcherry329

Well-Known Member
Both rotator cuffs, both calves, right hammy, both quads, right achilles tendon, & too many balls off fat or bone to remember. Luckily all of those were minor and not actual tears.

Worst on the field, I was pitching and took a rocket liner off the inside of right shin, gold dot extreme, in cooler weather. Woke the next day and my entire leg and foot was almost black/blood colored. 3 weeks later i took a middle shot off the exact same spot, and blew the skin open. I despise pitching directly into the sun... 5 years later and that spot still gets sore and tender sometimes and is discolored...

Only remedy i got is stay safe, play ball, and enjoy life :D
Lol, yeah, I didn't even mention all the balls off of my shins and side, stomach, and arms while pitching or playin 1b/3b. Never got hit directly on the bone, always just missed the shin or ankle bones.
 

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
Reading all these muscle injuries I think of two things. Hydration and stretching/warm up.
I definitely drink more beer then water before and during games. Us old men muscles need to be extra hydrated and warmed up before any physical activities. Unless you are just a catcher and need a runner after every hit some pre game warm up is needed.

Hydration is a HUUGGGEEEE factor as you get older. I'm 40 now, and when I was in my 20s or even 30s I never gave hydration a thought. I'd play all day and drink almost nothing.

Now I make a conscious effort to drink lots of water and powerade (mostly water). I'll even mix in some powdered hydration booster at times. My body lets me know quickly now when I'm not hydrating enough. I'll get stiff almost instantly and simply feel dried out.

Only serious softball injury I've had was a pulled hamstring 4 years ago. It hurt like hell, and I knew I had an instant problem. Light bruising. That injury kept me off the field for 6 weeks, and even when I returned I wasn't 100%. That hamstring hasn't bothered me since. I at least partly attribute the hamstring injury to wearing crappy shoes. I bought a cheap pair of turfs from SIS one year on a black Friday deal. The shoes were horribly uncomfortable to the point I feel they affected how I walked or ran on the field. Even after the hamstring injury I wore the shoes a couple more times, and had continued general leg pain. I finally wised up and threw those shoes away. Now I play softball in tennis shoes. I'm willing to sacrifice traction for comfort at this point. I've had no leg issues since, and average New Balance shoes do just fine on the field.

Getting over the hamstring injury kind of sucked. I made sure to stay active, and walked on it even though it hurt. I feel like using the muscle (lightly) had far more benefit than simply sitting around letting it atrophy. I bought a neoprene hamstring compression sleeve that I wore at night. I feel like that helped the healing process along.

I don't stretch excessively before games, but I will run a little. Usually some sprints followed by a jog around the field/complex. I feel that adequately gets my legs going without completely tiring me out. Simply jogging has made a difference. I can run the bases or OF and feel good, not worrying about pulling something.

Final thoughts: At 40, my body tells me when something's not working right. If I'm sore or achy, I'll take it down a notch rather than continuing to push. I feel like I can still play softball at a very high level, but I have to think about it more. You really do have to start putting thought into how to reduce the risk of injury as you get older.

I'm really surprised how many guys I see playing who are my age or older who don't do anything to warm up before a game. These guys are always getting hurt, and it's almost always pulled hamstrings, quads, or calves. A little preventive maintenance goes a long way. You have to run around a little before the game to get your leg muscles working.
 
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Redsfan

Well-Known Member
I'm 50 and I stretch my legs almost every day. I popped both hamstrings at age 46 and learned out how important stretching was. I have no hamstring problems now. Doing that every day keep my pre game stretching to a minimum too because I'm already limber.
TW is correct on the hydration. All the young guys on my team drink beer during the game and they keep getting hurt. I drink water and am fine.
 

blakcherry329

Well-Known Member
I'm 50 and I stretch my legs almost every day. I popped both hamstrings at age 46 and learned out how important stretching was. I have no hamstring problems now. Doing that every day keep my pre game stretching to a minimum too because I'm already limber.
TW is correct on the hydration. All the young guys on my team drink beer during the game and they keep getting hurt. I drink water and am fine.
I don't stretch as much as I should. However, I get on the vibration plate and then the exercise bike to loosen up my legs. I brings an 80oz jug filled with water mixed with hydrating energy (Pure Kick powder). You definitely get more dehydration signals as you get older. Listen to your body.
 

Adower

Star Player
Thank god I haven't had any serious injuries. I pulled my hamstring a few seasons ago. I turned 38 this year and if I don't get there at least 30 min prior to game to stretch I get very nervous.

I get jealous of the guys that are 25-30 old on my team that just show up 15 min before and throw some warm up and are good to go. lol
 

msw4indy

Addicted to Softballfans
Managed to be fairly lucky with no major injuries until my 40's. The worst, I was 49 and running to first. Stepped in a hole, blew my hamstring, fell and shattered my elbow.....I didn't even notice my elbow was hurt because the hamstring was so bad until I realized I couldn't move it. Wound up losing about 2-3 inches of my radius bone, bone was split another inch or so, dislocated the elbow, and tore a ligament. Dr said it was good news that there was really nothing he could fix in the shattered bone so he fixed what he could, cleaned it out, and put in a rod and cap. Surgery on Wednesday and started therapy that same Friday! Rehabbed for 8 weeks and went back to playing. My hamstring was bad enough that it was not 100% for a few more weeks after I went back to playing. Only issue I have is I think there was an undiagnosed shoulder issue because I cannot throw overhand without numbness down my arm. Been a little over 2 years since the injury. Hitting and strength all came back to normal and range of motion is almost the same as the good one too.
 

jbo911

Super Moderator
Staff member
I get that numbness sometimes, and sometimes down my leg if I sit for too long. After just throbbing knee pain from age or arthritis, that is my least favorite thing about getting old. Its just weird.
 

r8dr_rider

Well-Known Member
I need to get to the game 30min before minimum. I like 1hr. Just to jog and stretch. If I show up at game time I’m playing catcher and won’t try to out run a grounder. I’m getting to old for this ****
 

msw4indy

Addicted to Softballfans
Tennis shoes are not good, but if it's comfort you are looking for try trail shoes or a real comfortable turfs. I have Nike turfs and it feels close to tennis shoes.

I second that for trail runners. I've used them for several years and not had any issues with my footing in dirt or grass.
 

jhitman

Well-Known Member
I second that for trail runners. I've used them for several years and not had any issues with my footing in dirt or grass.

I tried them both and the Nike turfs seem to last longer as I go through shoes pretty fast. The trail shoes were really comfortable. The only draw back for the ones I had were when the grass was really wet I slipped a few times. Other than that, they were great.
 

r8dr_rider

Well-Known Member
Another injury. hot grounder took a bad hop and nailed my right hand as I was ready to “alligator” into the glove. Pinky and ringer finger are black and blue. Nothing broken. Hurt like hell
 
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