There are three definites in life: death, taxes and injuries in baseball. While you may have only heard about the first two before now, Bob Murphy, head athletic trainer at Georgia State University, can assure you that the third is also a rock-solid truth.

But Murphy and his NCAA colleagues aren’t taking that last statement sitting down. In fact, over the past decade or so, there have been philosophical changes to training and working out that many feel are helping baseball players excel on the field and stay off hospital beds.

“There seems to be more of a year-round approach to sports now,” says Murphy, who’s worked with GSU’s baseball team and its other sports since 2007. “Back when I started, there used to be pretty much an offseason where you didn’t do much. But now, athletes at the college level and up pretty much are participating in their sport year-round, which is good because it kind of keeps you in shape. We just have to watch and make sure they don’t overdo it too much with certain things.”

Another change Murphy’s noticed amongst his peers is with their mental switch from merely rehabilitating to now preventing injuries altogether. It’s with that mold of thinking that FUEL approached Murphy about three common baseball ailments to get the best advice on averting them in the first place. Continue reading →