June 2014 – Chris Butler Sports PT

Little Leaguer’s Elbow

This is a guest post from Kevin Wentz, PT, CSCS. Kevin is the Founder and Co-Owner of Catz Physical Therapy Institute and Sports Performance Center in Pasadena, CA. He has been a leader in the sports medicine field since 1994 and has rehabbed the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, David Beckham, and Adrian Beltre. I have had the good fortune of working with him at Catz since 2007.

Elbow Injuries in Young Baseball Pitchers

by Kevin Wentz Continue reading “Little Leaguer’s Elbow”

Strength Training for Runners and Endurance Athletes

Running is a big deal here in Pasadena, we have numerous running & tri clubs nearby, and a niche running store that specializes in finding the right shoe for your foot, running style and terrain choice. The Arroyo Seco provides some nature and uneven trail surfaces while the Rose Bowl gives you a nice 5K loop that is traveled daily by runners, walkers and cyclists. Annually, Pasadena hosts its own Marathon and being only a few miles north of Downtown, the LA Marathon is a common training goal for many runners to work towards. When working with an endurance athlete, it’s important to remember that it’s always good to work towards strength. Strength helps everything. However, the opposite is true with power athletes, you don’t want power-lifters, weight-lifters, sprinters or in my opinion, baseball pitchers going on long endurance runs, but everybody benefits from getting stronger. Often times it will take some convincing to get your endurance specialist to buy into getting stronger because many runners believe building strength will add bulk. Here are just a few fairly recent studies to support strength for improved endurance performance. I will add to this list as I come across pertinent studies and articles.