Can you play baseball with a cast?

If you or your kid loves sports, odds are throughout the course of their playing careers they will suffer some sort of injury that will require a cast.

Fingers, Thumbs, forearms, and elbows are the most common areas that require casts after a fracture or broken bone.

So can you play baseball with a cast?

If you have a cast on your non-throwing arm it is possible to play in the field with a cast but is probably not the best idea to hit with a cast due to the possibility of getting hit by a ball. As always, be sure to check with your doctor to get the final stamp of approval.

I once broke fractured my thumb playing flag football and was surprised that I needed most of my forearm in a cast.

I was still able to play basketball and run around, but I remember being advised by my doctor to try and limit the amount of movement in the casted arm to help improve the healing rate. 

In baseball, if you have a cast on your non-throwing arm, you can still work on things with your throwing arm to keep your arm in shape.

While you may not be able to throw at full intensity, you can work on drills to improve your accuracy and arm strength.

Can you play sports with a cast on?

Depending on where the cast is, there are some sports that you can play with a cast on if you get clearance from your doctor.

In football, it is not that unusual to see players on the field with some sort of cast on their forearm or lower arm while they are in the game.

If a football player is not involved in throwing or catching the ball, they can probably get away with playing with a small cast. 

Defensive players are the most likely to play with a cast since they can still make tackles y using their bodies and one arm if needed.

Soccer is another sport that you can get away with playing with a small cast or brace on your arm since you are not allowed to use your hand.

There are so many different types of fractures and casts, there is really not a clear-cut answer to whether you can play sports with a cast on unless you analyze each situation uniquely.

Can you play baseball with a fractured wrist?

Little league rules do not allow players to play with a cast so it is really not suggested at early levels.

At the high school levels and above, players may be able to play with a small cast on their non-throwing arm particularly if they are a pitcher.

Has there ever been a one-armed baseball player?

Yes, there have been several in baseball history but the most well-known one-armed baseball players in history are Jim Abbott and Pete Gray.

Pete Gray was an outfielder on the St. Louis Browns had one arm and he used one arm to the field and hit.

Gray lost his arm when he was six years old and taught himself how to play with his one remaining arm.

He played just one season in the majors and was a well known motivational speaker for people with disabilities

Jim Abbott was born without a right hand and used his left hand to throw and field the ball and could exchange the ball and glove very quickly which allowed him to compete at the highest levels.

Jim Abbot pitcher with one arm and was one of the best lefties of his era and threw a no-hitter in 1993.

Here is a video clip of some of his highlights:

Who was the one-armed catcher?

Luke Terry is a high school catcher that only has one arm after losing his other arm at 2 years old due to an E.Coli infection.

Terry is left-handed and catches with his left hand and drops his glove to use the same arm to grab the ball and throw it back to the pitcher or to throw a runner out.

Did Jim Abbott have to bat?

Jim Abbott played most of his career in the American League but in 1998 he played for the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League which requires pitchers to hit.

Abbott got 2 hits during 21 at-bats during his time with the Brewers and there are claims that Abbott used to hit home runs during batting practice. 

Can a football player play with a cast?

According to most high school rules, a player that plays with a cast must have soft recovery foam over 1 inch covering the cast to avoid injury to other players. 

Casts are very hard and they could incidentally injure another player during the field of play. 

Cast covers are made out of thick foam which helps prevent hard collisions with the cast. 

Here is a good video from an orthopedic surgeon breaking down things to consider regarding playing football with a cast:

Can you play basketball with a cast on?

According to the NFHS rules are not allowed on fingers, wrist, or elbow.

They are only allowed on the upper arm or shoulder and must be covered with a half-inch thick or more of recovery foam.

There is not much detail about why the rules are set this way, but one could conclude that with how much movement there is in basketball swiping at the ball, casts would be dangerous to other players that bump into it incidentally.

A shoulder brace would not interfere much with other players during the course of a basketball game which is why that is likely allowed. 

What is the best way to play football with a cast?

The best way to play football with a cast is to get a cast protector which will protect your cast and soften the blow an opponent may take when they make direct contact with a cast. 

There are cast protectors you can get online, or you can speak with your doctor about the best way to keep your cast safe.

As always, check with your doctor to make sure he signs off on playing with a cast and check with the rules for the league you are in to make sure they are allowed and if so how to go about protecting them. 

Can you play Soccer with a cast?

There are different requirements and rules depending on the league you play in and whether or not you can play with a cast on.

It is best to check with the league your kid plays in to see if they allow kids to play with casts and if they do what type of padding they need to use.

Can you play with a cast conclusion

The main thing to remember if you are trying to figure out if you can play baseball with a cast or any sport for that matter is to speak with your doctor first and then check with your school or league to get the requirements.

Cast padding has come a long way in recent years and I am sure you have noticed more NFL players wearing casts than ever before.

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