Braves remain calm with injured star’s rehabilitation from oblique strain

The Atlanta Braves have been dealing with the loss of starting pitcher Spencer Strider to a UCL injury, but it is not the first injury suffered by a Braves regular this season.

And Atlanta is sensibly taking its time with that one.

Sean Murphy, Atlanta’s starting catcher, injured his side on a swing in the team’s first game and has been out since with an oblique strain.

The Braves issued an update this week, with manager Brian Snitker telling the reporters that Murphy had progressed in his recovery to the point of walking on a treadmill, but was still unable to run or hit. “It’s a tough injury,” Snitker explained. “Even as slight as that one was, it’s still a big injury.”

Murphy is already eligible to be activated from the disabled list, but he is clearly far from readiness. That’s a wise approach, because pushing Murphy back too soon would cause offensive concerns for the outstanding catcher.

“The oblique muscles are important for generating speed during a swing, so if the muscle is injured or in pain, the player will be unable to swing as effectively,” David A. Wang, MD, sports medicine physician at Hospital for Special Surgery, told Braves Today. “Even if the pain has subsided, you must be cautious about how quickly the athlete returns since there is always a chance of re-injury. Following an injury, the oblique muscle need sufficient time to heal and rehabilitate in order to withstand the high load encountered during a swing or throw. As with any muscular injury, if you progress and load the muscle too rapidly after it has healed, you risk reinjuring the area.”

This risk of re-injury is heightened for a batter like Murphy, who is known for swinging with “max effort” every time he comes up to bat. Thankfully, catching is not the region with the biggest danger of re-injury, so Murphy should be able to function defensively as soon as he returns to the lineup, according to Wang. “While catchers do have additional and unique physical requirements compared to other positions in the field, when it comes to oblique injuries, the most common mechanism of injury is from swinging during batting.”

That’s also excellent news for Murphy’s comeback timeline, as Wang says that there will be no additional rehab required to return to catching – only the regular rehab that all hitters must go through.