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Bowling safe
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A weak shoulder need not end the career of a player
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SHOULDERING IT Get the right bowling action
The shoulder is the most abused joint in cricket. You’d think bowling causes most shoulder injuries and, in fact, spinners can rightly blame their bowling action for them. However, quicks like Courtney Walsh owe their busted shoulders to throwi
ng rather than to bowling. Fall on an outstretched arm can also damage the shoulder joint.
Rotator cuff tears
Most shoulder injuries in cricket are rotator cuff tears. The rotator cuff ties four trunk muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, terer minor, and subscapularis) to the arm at the shoulder. Eighty-yard throws can tear the rotator cuff, hampering lifting the arm sideways. Weak muscles are one predisposing factor, but strengthening shoulders in the gym can make matters worse.
Gym-goers tend to focus on the deltoid, trapezius and the pectoralis, ignoring the rotator cuff muscles. The result is throws that are more powerful cause more severe cuff tears.
Right after an injury, the shoulder might be too painful for any movement. Examination is usually possible after two days of rest and anti-inflammatory drugs. Depending on the muscle affected, distinct restriction of movement occurs.
Damage to supraspinatus will prevent initial abduction of arm. Pain on resisted external rotation of arm usually means damage to infraspinatus. Pain on resisted internal rotation occurs with subscapularis damage. Injection of local anaesthetic into the subacromial space will help differentiate a partial tear from a complete tear.
With a partial tear, movement is possible once pain subsides; with a complete tear, the movement fails even in a painless joint. Radiography, MRI and arthroscopy are diagnostic tools that aid clinical examination.
The treatment of a complete tear is surgical repair. Incomplete tears and inflammation of the cuff require a few weeks of rest, anti-inflammatory drugs and physiotherapy. Avoiding throwing for a few weeks. Chronic case might require injection of corticosteroids into the shoulder joint, decompression of the subacromial space and excision of the coracoacromial ligament.
During recovery, strengthen the shoulder cuff muscles before strengthening the deltoid, trapezius and pectoralis.
With chronic injuries, recovery is often unsatisfactory. That does not mean the end of a career. Teams have found ways to hide exceptional players with weak shoulders. It may be possible, like with Courtney Walsh, to bowl the ball in rather than throw it.
RAJIV. M
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