The direct effect of the hip brace may be related to the hip function in the turning phase of TUG. In addition, mechanical improvements due to daily exercise may provide an indirect, but essential, effect of the brace on TUG performance.
[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between pitching
weight and pitching mechanics, including ball reaction force (BRF) and temporal
parameters, for the prevention of throwing injury in adult amateur pitchers. [Participants
and Methods] Twenty adult male amateur pitchers (mean age, height, and body mass: 26 ± 3.4
years, 1.7 ± 0.03 m, and 71.6 ± 9.5 kg, respectively) randomly pitched light (110 g) and
heavy (145 g) baseballs at maximum velocity. Kinematic, kinetic, and temporal parameters
were compared between the light and heavy balls. [Results] Pitching heavy balls
significantly increased the BRF to 9.2 N and maximum trunk rotation angular velocity to
26.2°/sec, and decreased the ball speed to 1.4 m/sec and upper limb joint torque
efficiency and shoulder internal rotation angular velocity at the moment of ball release
at 250.8°/sec. Furthermore, the peak temporal kinetic parameters until ball release
appeared early in the throwing of the heavy ball. [Conclusion] Adult amateur pitchers who
pitched heavy balls had greater BRF; had decreased upper limb joint torque efficiency,
ball speed, and arm angular velocity; and reached maximum kinetics early. Adult amateur
pitchers may be at risk of throwing injuries due to throwing of heavy balls.
Dynamic lateral instability of the femoral head develops in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip. Recently we have developed a hip brace, called the WISH-type hip brace, and showed successful response of the patients quantitatively. However, a negligible effect was observed in patients with bilateral involvement. Here, we extended the application of the WISH-type hip brace for two patients with bilateral OA joints. The resultant WISH-type hip brace with two S-form portions for bilateral thighs provided good recovery in hip function. Interestingly Timed Up & Go (TUG) test performed for one patient revealed a positive effect of the brace on the functional mobility. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report elucidating the therapeutic effect of brace therapy with bilateral hip stabilization from hip functional and functional mobility points of view. Application of the present brace should be taken into account for patients with painful bilateral hip OA before easy application of invasive surgery such as total hip arthroplasty.
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