Easy to Spot a Catcher's Knees??

[Lreeve]

My daughter had a sports physical today and the doctor asked if she was a catcher. He said he could tell from her knees. She hasn't had any knee problems or injuries that would give it away. It got me thinking, is there something unique about catcher's knees development that would be easy to spot in a basic physical?

 

[Northball]

My daughter had a sports physical today and the doctor asked if she was a catcher. He said he could tell from her knees. She hasn't had any knee problems or injuries that would give it away. It got me thinking, is there something unique about catcher's knees development that would be easy to spot in a basic physical?

You know how someone interlaces their fingers like they're about to pray, then turns their palms outward and pushes away to crack their knuckles all at once? That's what my knees sound like when I stand up out of a crouch. That's how they were in my HS baseball days, but I don't think catching caused it, the sound just brought attention to it.

 

[ChrisSB]

My daughter's doctor told her that her knees pull slightly outward which is not abnormal in catchers because the outer thigh muscles are stronger than the inner ones due to all the squatting.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Unpopular opinion . . . Knee Savers do more long term damage than good. Develop the muscles properly and you will save yourself the aches and pains down the road.

@Lreeve . . . Not sure what your daughter had to do during her physical, but I doubt an x-ray or MRI were part of it. Was it maybe more in the way she moved/squatted/stood up than her actual knees themselves?

@ChrisSB . . . do you mean her kneecaps or her actual knees? (Looking at my legs, I guess they do bow out a bit at my knees.)

@Northball . . . I never had the bad popping, but my knees would get . . . weird . . . in the winters around here. I assume it was some form of arthritis, but it was more like restless leg syndrome. I needed to keep them moving or they just throbbed. It stopped altogether when I moved to Mississippi, so I assumed the hot climate helped. What is weird is that I've been back for a few years and that has not come back.

 

[CoachJD]

Unpopular opinion . . . Knee Savers do more long term damage than good. Develop the muscles properly and you will save yourself the aches and pains down the road.

Knee savers also promote a poor catching stance in young players, who will have a tendency to use them even when they shouldn't.

If you need a brief break, between pitches/during downtime, just go to your knees.

 

[RADcatchers]

If you need a break between pitches and down time...

Stand-up!!

Get your knees out of a bent squished position.


Particularly when legs are completely folded and knees are in between sitting on the ground with all your weight on top of them is not the healthiest position.