SPEAR Physical Therapy Combats Alarming Injury Rates in Youth Baseball Players

NEW YORK, March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- For the fourth year in a row this spring, SPEAR Physical Therapy will host its annual "Back to Baseball" event, part of SPEAR's grassroots effort to combat the alarming rates of injuries and subsequent Tommy John surgeries in youth baseball players. More than half of Tommy John surgeries are performed on kids ages 15 to 19. 

This event is a unique opportunity for coaches, parents, and youth athletes (ages 9-20) to kick off the season by learning about injury prevention and improving their performance through individual assessments. 

Special guests include Olympic pitchers, Eric Brodkowitz and Gabe Cramer, who will share their professional experiences with students in an open Q&A session. Both Brodkowitz, a former Ivy-league champion for the Yale bulldogs, and Cramer, a former player for the Kansas City Royals, are current members of the Israeli national baseball team, which qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.  

Athletes will also hear from experienced sports medicine experts about proper body mechanics and best practices, led by SPEAR CEO and Olympic physical therapist for Team Israel Dan Rootenberg PT, DPT, CSCS. Rootenberg will be joined by: 

• Former orthopedic surgeon for the Chicago White Sox and current Major League Baseball advisor Dr. Anthony Romeo
• Former Houston Astros orthopedic physician Dr. Johnny Arnouk
• Former assistant team physician for the New York Mets Dr. Brandon Erickson
• SPEAR Clinical Director Austin Afshar PT, DPT, CSCS

"The best way to prevent injuries," Rootenberg believes, "is by educating coaches, parents, and athletes on how they can decrease risk factors." 

As a leading private practice in sports enhancement and rehabilitation, SPEAR Physical Therapy's clinicians place an emphasis on customizing training regiments and care plans to individual patients' needs and goals. Throughout the workshop, each athlete will be led through a series of functional assessments to test their strength, balance, and flexibility by trained physical therapists who will offer customized home exercise routines to help improve players' performance for the upcoming season. 

This event is free and open to the public, taking place on Saturday March 14^th at 10:00 am at SPEAR Physical Therapy's Murray Hill clinic, located at 143 East 34^th Street. Youth athletes and their families are invited to come meet professional players and medical experts to learn about injury prevention in a fun, engaging environment. No gloves or bats needed! Slots can be reserved by RSVPing at backtobaseball2020.eventbrite.com. 

About SPEAR Physical Therapy 

Founded in a single room in Midtown Manhattan in 1999, SPEAR has now grown to 20 locations that improve the lives of thousands of patients each year. The company was recently named the Nation's Top Physical Therapy Practice by the American Physical Therapy Association's Private Practice Section, and has become the highest-rated physical therapy practice in NYC. SPEAR's quality of service and consistent growth have earned it significant recognition, including being the first private physical therapy company to ring the opening bell on the NY Stock Exchange and being profiled in the NY Post's feature on democratic leadership. SPEAR has made the Inc. 5000 list six times, and recently won CEO Report's Corporate Culture Award. 

SOURCE SPEAR Physical Therapy

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