Shoulder Pain in High School Volleyball: How Physical Therapy Can Save Your Season

Volleyball asks a teenager to swing overhead at full speed a few hundred times a week. Shoulders complain about that, and the complaint is usually treatable if somebody listens to it early.

Do not file it under growing pains

Shoulder pain in a hitter who has been playing one sport year-round is worth taking seriously, particularly if it is the hitting shoulder and particularly if it has been there more than a couple of weeks.

Growing pains are usually vague, changeable and often in both limbs. An overuse injury is specific, repeatable, and tied to activity.

Overuse gets worse in stages

It helps to know where an athlete sits, because the earlier stages are far quicker to fix.

• Pain in the area after playing, and nothing during
• Pain during play that does not affect performance
• Pain during play that does affect performance
• Persistent pain even at rest

Most young athletes get seen at stage three, when the season is already at risk. Stage one is the cheap fix.

Why the shoulder is rarely the whole story

A painful hitting shoulder is often a shoulder being asked to make up for something else: a mid-back that does not rotate, hips that do not contribute to the swing, or a shoulder blade that lost control somewhere in the season.

A full movement evaluation looks at how the athlete actually moves rather than just where it hurts. The painful joint is usually compensating for a quieter one.

Saving the season rather than ending it

“Rest until it stops hurting” costs a season and does not fix the cause, so it hurts again in the spring. Usually there is a version where the athlete keeps playing at a managed load while the underlying problem gets treated.

Sometimes sitting out briefly is the right call. That is a decision we make with the athlete and the family, with reasons attached.

If your player has been rolling their shoulder between sets, get it looked at while it is still a stage-one problem. Call or text us on (224) 858-5161, or request an appointment. You do not need a referral in Illinois, and the first look costs you nothing.