You can't play softball in the rain!

Slow pitch softball might seem like a relaxed, low-impact sport, but it actually racks up more injuries than many would expect. While most research focuses on fast pitch softball or baseball, the few studies that address slow pitch tend to zero in on sliding injuries.

But there’s much more going on when it comes to how players get hurt.

If you're interested in injury prevention strategies for baseball or fast pitch softball, check out my February 2025 blog. But if you're here for insights specific to slow pitch, keep reading!

A Sitka Tradition—and a Surprising One

If you've spent any time in Southeast Alaska, you know that softball and baseball are huge here. It's a bit unexpected—after all, we live in a rainforest. "You can't play softball in the rain!"  Ha, when I moved from Alaska to Arizona and joined a league there, I was surprised when I showed up to the field and no one else was there.  I called a team member, and the response was, "what are you doing at the field?  You can't play softball in the rain?"  Hmmm, I'm pretty sure I've swam through lakes on the field to get to a ball, so yes, this was a new concept to me.  You might think snow sports or indoor activities would dominate. But something about this game got deep down in our souls here in our little town of Sitka, AK...rain or shine (and usually it's rain). 

From a young age, I was at the ballfields watching my parents play. T-ball wasn’t just a sport—it was a rite of passage. Summers were spent living at the fields, and by the mid-90s (back when I was in high school), we even launched our first high school girls fast pitch program.

Now, as adults, joining a softball team is one of the most social things you can do in Sitka. And with so many people playing, it begs the question:

How many of us actually prepare our bodies for the physical demands of the game?

Why Injuries Happen—And It’s Not Just Sliding

Yes, sliding injuries are still a concern, but thanks to breakaway bags—and let’s face it, the wisdom of age—many of us “veterans” aren't sliding much anymore.

However, this brings up another major issue: deceleration. Stopping suddenly can lead to ankle sprains, falls, quad strains, or even tendon injuries and ruptures.

From both a physical therapist's perspective and as a player, I’ve noticed a key issue: most players (except pitchers and catchers) go from standing still to making explosive, high-intensity movements with little to no prep. That sudden shift sets the stage for soft tissue injuries.

Muscle pulls and tears are especially common—hamstrings often go during take-off when sprinting to first base, and quads take the hit during deceleration, like stopping at a base or during a pickle.

What Can You Do?

To stay on the field and avoid injury, two things are crucial:

1. A proper warm-up

2. Targeted strength training—especially for the muscles most at risk

Below, I’ve put together some exercises and warm-up ideas to help keep you strong, safe, and swinging all season long.

Warm Up:

Prior to an activity, a dynamic warm-up is key for injury prevention.  The difference between a dynamic warm up (moving the muscle through a range of motion), as opposed to a static stretch (holding a stretch for at least 20 sec) is it is designed to get the heart rate up, increase blood flow to key muscle groups, activate stabilizers, and prep the body for movement. Apart from addressing a specific injury, static stretching should be saved for after the game. Basically, you want to move every key muscle involved during softball, which is most, but definitely think Hamstring, Quad, hip rotators, and shoulder girdle.  Here is an example below:

Dynamic Warm-Up for Slow Pitch Softball (5–10 Minutes)

Before you hit the field, do this quick full-body warm-up to reduce injury risk and boost performance.

1. High Knees – 20 seconds

Get the blood flowing and warm up your hip flexors and core.

2. Butt Kicks – 20 seconds

Loosen up your quads and activate your hamstrings.

3. Leg Swings (Front to Back & Side to Side) – 10 reps each leg/direction

Hold onto a fence or wall. This mobilizes hips and stretches the hamstrings and adductors dynamically.

4. Walking Lunges with Rotation – 10 steps per leg

Step forward into a lunge and rotate your torso toward the front leg. Great for warming up the hips, quads, glutes, and core.

5. Arm Circles – 10 reps forward and backward

Start small and gradually increase the size. Activates the shoulder girdle and warms up the rotator cuff.

6. Scapular Wall Slides or Band Pull-Aparts – 10–15 reps

Great for shoulder blade activation and rotator cuff engagement. This helps reduce risk of shoulder strain.

7. A-Skips or Bounding – 20 seconds

Light plyometric movement to activate fast-twitch fibers in the lower body and prep for running.

Tune in to my Instagram page this month for a full video of this: 

www.instagram.com/medicinebymovementwellness

Targeted Strengthening:

RDLs (see past blogs or Instagram for full info on this), or Nordic curls:

RDL: For a detailed explanation, check out some of my past blogs, as well as Instagram for videos

Nordic Hamstring Curls

One of the best ways to prevent hamstring injuries—especially during those quick sprints to first base—is by building eccentric strength in your hamstrings. Enter the Nordic hamstring curl.

This exercise targets your hamstrings during the lengthening (eccentric) phase, which is exactly how most hamstring injuries happen on the field.

How to do it:

1. Kneel on a soft surface with your feet secured (under a couch, a barbell, or with a partner holding them down).

2. Keep your body in a straight line from knees to head.

3. Slowly lower your torso toward the ground by straightening your knees, resisting the fall with your hamstrings.

4. Catch yourself with your hands if needed, then push off lightly and return to start.

Tips:

* Start with small ranges of motion and build up.

* If it's too difficult, use resistance bands or try a modified version with a stability ball.

• Aim for 2–3 sets of 3–5 reps, 2–3 times per week, and work up to more reps depending on tolerance.

This exercise is tough but incredibly effective. Over time, it can significantly reduce the risk of hamstring pulls or tears—especially during those sudden bursts and stops that slow pitch demands.

Eccentric step downs

(see prior newsletter and Instagram for full info for this)

or Bulgarian split squat

Bulgarian Split Squats

To help prevent injuries like quad strains, hip imbalances, and even knee pain, it's important to build unilateral (single-leg) strength. This mimics the demands of running, cutting, and stopping on one leg—things that happen constantly in slow pitch.

The Bulgarian split squat is a powerhouse move that targets your quads, glutes, and hamstrings, while also improving balance and core stability.

How to do it:

1. Stand about 2–3 feet in front of a bench or sturdy surface.

2. Place one foot behind you on the bench, laces down.

3. Lower your back knee toward the floor while keeping your front knee aligned over your ankle.

4. Push through your front heel to return to standing.

Tips:

* Keep your torso upright and your core engaged.

* Start with bodyweight, then add dumbbells as you get stronger.

* Aim for 2–3 sets of 8–12 reps per leg.

This is a fantastic exercise for deceleration control, which helps reduce the risk of quad injuries and falls—especially when stopping suddenly at a base or changing direction.

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Don’t Forget About the Shoulder

Another common issue I see in slow pitch softball players is shoulder pain—most often due to rotator cuff impingements or strains. These types of injuries are typically caused by muscle imbalances around the shoulder and shoulder blade.

Repetitive overhead movements—like throwing or even certain swings—put a lot of stress on the tendons of the rotator cuff. When the muscles surrounding the joint aren’t working together properly, that stress gets magnified.

A simple rule of thumb to help prevent this:

Stretch the front. Strengthen the back

That means focusing on stretching anterior muscles like your pecs and biceps, while strengthening posterior muscles—particularly those around the scapula (shoulder blade) and the rotator cuff.

Shoulder health is a deep and complex topic, but here are a couple of easy starting points:

Stretch Highlight: Chest Opener (Doorway or Foam Roller)

Tight chest muscles—especially the pec major and minor—can pull your shoulders forward, increasing the risk of rotator cuff impingement and shoulder pain. Opening up the front of the body is key to restoring balance and improving posture and shoulder mechanics.

Here are two great options:

1. Doorway Chest Stretch

How to do it:

1. Stand in a doorway with your elbows bent at 90° and your forearms resting against the doorframe.

2. Step forward with one leg until you feel a stretch across your chest and the front of your shoulder.

3. Hold for 20–30 seconds

Tip: Keep your shoulders down and relaxed—don’t let it shrug up toward your ear.

2. Foam Roller Chest Opener

How to do it:

1. Lie lengthwise on a foam roller so your spine is fully supported from head to tailbone.

2. Bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the ground.

3. Open your arms out to the sides in a “T” or goalpost position and let gravity gently stretch your chest.

4. Hold for 1–2 minutes, breathing deeply.

Tip: This is a great post-game or post-work stretch to undo the day’s forward posture, or I love to do it before bed.

Including this stretch regularly can help keep your shoulders in a safer, more functional position—especially when paired with strengthening exercises for the upper back and rotator cuff!

Strengthening:

Any kind of prone scapular work, but my favorite:

Blackburns Scapular Exercises

I give pretty much all of my shoulder patients forms of this exercise.  It helps to engage the posterior shoulder and rotator cuff.  You can lay on your stomach, lay over a plyoball, bend at the waist, or any other position that allows you to fight gravity. 

Each position is performed for 60 sec.  I usually do 2 sets of 30 sec pulsing, but you can hold the position statically, you can have them go up and down, pulse at the top, and break it up into as small of increments as needed, but a total of 60 sec in each position. 

Just as in the above exercise, the shoulder blades are what are starting the exercise-not the hand.  Think about squeezing shoulder blades back rather than just lifting. 

Position 1 is in a 90/90 External Rotation position. Kind of like you are making a goal post with your arms, Leading with thumbs up to engage more rotator cuff.

Position 2 is a "Y" once again leading with thumbs up.

Position 3 is a "T" or arms directly out to the side and with thumbs up.

Position 4, 5, and 6 are a repeat of the above, but with the palm down for a little more deltoid and scapula and less cuff.

*Shoulder external rotation strengthening

There are way too many versions and progressions of this exercise to describe here, but external rotation strength is imperative to a healthy shoulder for the throwing athlete.  A safe, and easy to follow progression is using theraband. 

Your elbow will always be bent to 90 degrees, and the motion will occur by the shoulder rotating out, not the elbow moving.  Start with the most support.  Arm at your side, bent to 90 and a towel between the arm and you body.

  Rotate out and back in through as large of a motion as you can without pain, and without twisting the body, or the elbow starting to straighten. 

Progressions would be moving the arm out to 45 degrees.  This makes it harder to stabilize.  Make sure the upper arm is not moving forward and back as you perform the exercise.  Then moving up to a 90/90 position. 

Start with support from a table or your arm, then move to without support.  There are lots of variations of this (see Blackburns above), as well as over a ball, and then progressing to a plyometric activity as well.  

Obviously, every player is unique, and this does not replace having an individual evaluation, nor does it dive into strengthening progressions or specifics depending on what your compensation patterns are.  BUT, the majority of softball players I work with who develop these issues usually have these deficits, so it’s a great place to start!  If you want more info, or an individualized assessment, reach out!  

In the month of Aug, 2025 I am offering 50% off any movement evaluation (this does not include an evaluation for a specific injury, more for preventative purposes). Most of us see a dentist, a doctor, even a mechanic for our cars for prevention…why don’t you show your body the same respect and try and keep it injury-free this year!

Happy swinging,

Alicia, your PT and Wellness Coach

www.medicinebymovementwellness.com