Can anyone recommend a good ice sleeve for after pitching? Preferably not too expensive too. Thanks.

JWoah ...

As I am sure you know, there are two schools of thought ... to ice or not to ice ... Our son iced from the time he was 11 thru his junior year in college, but when he was drafted and reported to his first assignment, he learned that his employer did not have their pitchers ice at all unless there was an actual injury. They use exercise and running to resolve the natural soreness that comes after pitching ... especially long outings.

Anyway, icing didn't hurt in his younger days and he used the sleeves manufactured by a local OC company. Their product is called Pro Ice and comes in a variety of styles and options. Some people who promote icing warn against keeping ice on the pitching elbow for more than 10 minutes ... that is what happened in college for our son and he only iced his shoulder by then, minimal ice on the elbow.

Their website is Pro Ice website

Yeah I have Pro Ice and I think it works great.

Some people like to use ice. I don't use ice. I don't have to, my arm never hurts (yay good mechanics and no weak chain). I've read some studies that show that icing actually slows down the recovery time for the arm, but I don't have those studies on hand right now.

XFactor ...

You are correct that some trainers and specialists believe that the icing actually csuses the arm to be stiffer the next day, and I guess added stiffness could contribute to added problems. As I said, there are two schools of thought on icing, and I think it is more common in high schools and colleges than it seems to be at thr minor league level. I cannot recall seeing an opposing pitcher this summer who was icing, and I know the Dbacks' pitchers DO NOT ice unless there is an actual injury.

Good mechanics are important to a healthy arm, but so is proper condtioning, stretching, regular throwing and tossing, etc.

It may be helpful for JWoah to speak with a sports trainer for some professional advice. If the person he speaks with believes it is okay to ice, then he can pursue it from there.

I am just curious futuremom, if the Diamonbacks don't ice what was that big wrap we used to see on Schiiling and R Johnson's arm after the games? Looked like ice to me. I am not a big beleiver in ice either but there are many magor league teams and pitchers that do use it every start.

The Royals don't really like icing either. With the minor league guys I worked with, they required them to ride a bike for 20 minutes and do some arm exercises. If they did all that and still wanted to ice, they could.

Mike Griffin
No Excuses Baseball
http://www.noexcusesbaseball.com

I use the pro-ice and I think it works great. I have no professional opinion but I like to ice only when theres soreness, but whether I ice or not can also depend on if theres a game the next day or not because after icing you could be more stiff even though the pain might not be there.

Well I am in Alaska so I don't even need to ice.

lineshot ...
I am not able to answer that definitively as I have no first hand knowledge but perhaps it was related to their ages ... they have thrown a lot more than the minor league guys, and they may have been sore. All I can tell you is that they do not ice their pitchers as a post-game routine in the minor leagues.

Maybe it is their age future I don't know. All though I am so old now I should just ice my whole body. On a more serious note My kids typically don't ice unless someone is injured and we have never had to ice any arms, all thouhg we do watch how many they throw and how much rest they get betwenn starts. Have a great one.

Icing creates a phenomen called reactive htperemia. In layman's terms it is simply a passive way of getting blood flow to the iced area. Throwing baseballs lightly or jogging has the same effect.

The question you should be asking is why do you have to ice in the first place. As for major league baseball, check out the Disabled list before you take advice from them.