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By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy & Performance | Pittsburgh Baseball Rehab When we talk about baseball injury prevention, most people immediately think about arm care, stretching, or pitch counts. Those things matter—but injury prevention starts long before you ever pick up a baseball. As a physical therapist who works with baseball players and throwing athletes throughout Pittsburgh, I believe injury prevention comes down to taking care of t

PRP for Baseball Players, Throwing Athletes & UCL Injuries in Pittsburgh By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy and Performance | Greater Pittsburgh, PA If you are a baseball player, parent, coach, or athlete in the Pittsburgh area dealing with a UCL injury, there is a good chance PRP has come up in the conversation. I hear it all the time: “He has a partial UCL tear. Should we get PRP?” PRP has become increasingly popular in sports medicine, partic

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy and Performance | Pittsburgh, Pa If you’ve followed Undefeated Physical Therapy and Performance for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard me say this: Throwing is a full-body movement. It’s not just about the shoulder. It’s not just about the elbow. And it certainly isn’t just about the arm. A baseball throw is a coordinated sequence that starts with the ground, moves through the legs and hips, transfers th

Why Baseball Players Need More Than Wrist Curls for Arm Strength and Elbow Health By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS | Undefeated Physical Therapy & Performance | Pittsburgh, PA When most athletes think about forearm training, they probably think about one thing: wrist curls. Flexion. Extension. Up and down. You’ve probably seen it before—someone sitting on a bench with a dumbbell in their hand, forearm supported, repeatedly flexing and extending the wrist. There’s nothing

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy & Performance | Pittsburgh, PA If you’re a baseball or softball player, chances are you’ve felt soreness after throwing at some point. The question is: Is it normal… or is it the start of an injury? At Undefeated Physical Therapy & Performance, one of the most common complaints we evaluate in throwers is elbow pain after throwing. Over the past month alone, we’ve seen a significant increase in athletes dealing

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy and Performance Disclaimer: This article is intended for educational purposes only and is not intended to supplement or replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from your physician or other qualified healthcare professional. Every few years, it seems like a new breakthrough emerges in the world of fitness, performance, and recovery. One year, it may be a specific diet. The next, a new supplement. Then,

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS If I had to estimate, I’d say nearly 80% of the injuries we see in the clinic are related to overuse. While acute injuries like a twisted ankle, broken bone, or collision on the field certainly happen, overuse is often the underlying factor behind many of the injuries athletes experience. As a physical therapist working with athletes every day, especially baseball and softball players, I see the effects of repetitive movement firsthand. O

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy and Performance When most people think about training their biceps, they picture bodybuilders doing endless curls in front of a mirror. While the biceps may be one of the most commonly trained muscles in the gym, many throwing athletes underestimate how important they are for arm health, performance, and injury prevention. At Undefeated Physical Therapy & Performance, we don’t train the biceps just to make you

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy & Performance | Pittsburgh, PA One of the most common questions I get from athletes and active adults is: “Should I work out if I’m sore?” The short answer is: It depends. The key is knowing the difference between muscle soreness and pain. Understanding that difference can help you recover faster, avoid injuries, and continue making progress in the gym or on the field. Whether you’re a baseball player, weekend

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy and Performance One of the most common things I hear from baseball players is: “I took a week or two off throwing, it felt better, but as soon as I got back into it, the pain came right back.” And honestly—that makes sense. Rest is important. It’s a very important advantage when it comes to helping an athlete recover from injury because we are temporarily removing the stress from the injured area. For throwers,

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy and Performance When people think about surgery, they often think the procedure itself is what “fixes” the problem—and structurally, that’s true. But surgery only addresses the damaged tissue. It does not automatically resolve everything happening around it. At Undefeated Physical Therapy and Performance, we see this often with throwing athletes recovering from Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injury (UCL) repairs or

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy & Performance If you’re a baseball parent, coach, or athlete, this is the time of year when we start seeing a spike in shoulder injuries. At Undefeated Physical Therapy & Performance, we’ve seen nearly 10 cases of Little League Shoulder in the past month alone. As recreational baseball wraps up and summer travel ball ramps up, throwing volume often increases dramatically. More games, more practices, more showca

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy & Performance In today’s world, we’re constantly searching for ways to make life easier. We want faster results, quicker fixes, and the most efficient path from point A to point B. While innovation has certainly improved many aspects of our lives, this mindset has also influenced how we approach our health. When something hurts, many people immediately look for a pill. When energy is low, there’s a supplement.

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy and Performance When people hear the word “stability,” they often think about simply keeping a joint from moving. While that is partially true, stability is much more than just being “still.” Especially in overhead athletes and throwers, stability means being able to control a joint dynamically while moving through high-speed ranges of motion. At Undefeated Physical Therapy and Performance, we work with a larg

Patterning Drills We Use at Undefeated Physical Therapy and Performance By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS When people talk about throwing mechanics, one of the most common phrases you hear is “arm slot.” While arm slot absolutely matters, we often see it misunderstood — especially in baseball and softball athletes trying to improve velocity or rehab from arm pain. At Undefeated Physical Therapy and Performance, we spend a lot of time teaching athletes that the relationsh

3 Exercises We Love to Build Strength, Stability, and Performance By Dr. Carmen Jansante | Undefeated Physical Therapy & Performance When people think about lower body training, they usually think of the quads, glutes, hamstrings, or calves. One muscle group that often gets overlooked is the adductor muscle group — the muscles located on the inside of the thigh. The adductors help bring the leg closer toward the body, but they do much more than that. These muscles also attach

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy & Performance – Pittsburgh, PA When it comes to pre-throw programs, most athletes immediately think about the shoulder and elbow—and for good reason. But one major piece is often missing: the ground. If we truly want to prepare the body to throw at a high level, we have to emphasize the entire body. That means starting from the ground up. When you throw, you’re going to be on each leg by itself at some point. W

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy & Performance – Pittsburgh, PA When it comes to building resilient, high-performing throwing athletes, plyometrics play a critical role. You’ve probably heard the term “plyos” thrown around a lot—and for good reason. Plyometrics are one of the most effective ways to bridge the gap between strength and real-world athletic performance. What Are Plyometrics? Plyometrics are exercises that train the body to produc

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS Undefeated Physical Therapy & Performance Pittsburgh, Pa When it comes to arm care in baseball, most athletes—and even many programs—focus heavily on the back side of the shoulder. External rotation work, band exercises, and scapular stability drills dominate the conversation. But there’s one muscle that often gets overlooked… and it might be the key to both velocity and shoulder health: The subscapularis muscle. What Is the Subscapulari

By Dr. Carmen Jansante, PT, DPT, CSCS When athletes think about improving performance or recovering from injury, the ankle is often overlooked. But the truth is—everything starts from the ground up. Every movement you make—running, cutting, throwing, lifting—begins with force interacting with the ground. That force travels up through your ankles, into your knees, hips, and eventually your upper body. If your ankles aren’t doing their job, something else will have to compensat