Background:Elbow injury rates among baseball pitchers are rapidly rising. However, this increase has been most dramatic among high school (HS) pitchers.Purpose:To examine pitch velocity and the kinetic and kinematic characteristics of HS versus professional (PRO) pitchers to identify potential differences that may play a role in the increased risk of ulnar collateral ligament injury in youth pitchers.Study Design:Controlled laboratory study.Methods:A total of 37 HS (mean ± SD: age, 16 ± 1 years) and 40 PRO (age, 21 ± 2 years) baseball pitchers completed maximal-effort baseball pitches during a single testing session, from which pitch velocity (PV), absolute and normalized elbow varus torque (EVTA and EVTN, respectively) during arm cocking and at maximum shoulder external rotation (MER), and 8 other elbow and shoulder torques or forces and rotational kinematics of the pelvis and trunk were analyzed, recorded, and compared.Results:PV was greater in PRO than HS athletes; EVTA was greater in PRO than HS athletes during arm cocking and at MER; but EVTN was similar during arm cocking and greater in HS than PRO athletes at MER. In PRO athletes, PV was not related to EVTA during arm cocking or MER (r = 0.01-0.05). Furthermore, in PRO athletes, EVTA during arm cocking and at MER were inversely related to upper trunk rotation at hand separation and foot contact and to pelvis rotation at elbow extension (r = –0.30 to –0.33). In contrast, in HS athletes, PV was strongly related to EVTA during arm cocking and MER (r = 0.76-0.77). Furthermore, in HS athletes, PV and EVTA during arm cocking and at MER were moderately or strongly related to the other elbow and shoulder torques and forces (r = 0.424-0.991), and EVTA was not related to upper trunk rotation or pelvis rotation throughout the throwing motion (r = –0.16 to 0.15).Conclusion:The kinetic and rotational kinematic differences observed between PRO and HS pitchers in this study may help explain the greater performance of PRO pitchers while allowing them to minimize EVT during pitching. HS pitchers, however, do not appear to be as capable of utilizing the forces generated by rotation of their trunk and pelvis to aid in pitching, and those who throw the hardest generate the greatest forces at the shoulder and elbow. As a result, they experience higher EVTs relative to their body size, which may place them at an increased risk of injury.Clinical Relevance:HS pitchers throw harder primarily by generating larger forces in the arm and shoulder. Thus, owing to the relative physical immaturity of HS versus PRO pitchers, these factors may place them at an increased risk of injury. Coaches may first wish to focus on improving the rotational kinematics of HS pitchers rather than first focusing on achieving greater pitch velocities.

Introduction: The purpose of this investigation was to: (1) to determine the reliability of rectus femoris muscle cross-sectional area and echo intensity obtained using panoramic ultrasound imaging during seated and supine lying positions before and after a 5-minute rest period and (2) to determine the influence of body position and rest period on the magnitude of rectus femoris muscle cross-sectional area and echo intensity measurements. Methods: A total of 23 males and females (age ¼ 21.5 AE 1.9 years) visited the laboratory on two separate occasions. During each visit, panoramic ultrasound images of the rectus femoris were obtained in both a seated and a supine position before (T1) and after a 5-minute (T2) rest period to quantify any potential changes in either muscle cross-sectional area and/or echo intensity. Results: None of the muscle cross-sectional area or echo intensity measurements exhibited systematic variability, and the ICCs were 0.98-0.99 and 0.88-0.91, and the coefficients of variation were 3.9% and 8.2% for muscle cross-sectional area and echo intensity, respectively. Our results indicated that muscle cross-sectional area was greater in the seated than supine position, whereas echo intensity was greater in the supine position. Further, echo intensity increased in the seated position from T1 to T2. Conclusion: Both rectus femoris muscle cross-sectional area and echo intensity may be reliably measured in either a seated or supine lying position before or after a 5-minute rest period. Aside from echo intensity in the seated position, rest period had no influence on the magnitude of muscle cross-sectional area or echo intensity. Comparison of muscle cross-sectional area values that are obtained in different body positions is ill-advised.

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The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of repeated, high‐ (HT: 70% MVIC) versus low‐torque (LT: 30% MVIC) isometric exercise performed to failure on motor unit (MU) recruitment and firing behavior of the vastus lateralis. Eighteen resistance‐trained males (23.1 ± 3.8 years) completed familiarization, followed by separate experimental sessions in which they completed either HT or LT exercise to failure in random order. LT exercise resulted in a greater time to task failure and a more dramatic decline in the muscle's force capacity, but the total work completed was similar for HT and LT exercise. An examination of the firing trains from 4670 MUs recorded during exercise revealed that firing rates generally increased during HT and LT exercise, but were higher during HT than LT exercise. Furthermore, recruitment thresholds (RT) did not significantly change during HT exercise, whereas the RT of the smallest MUs increased and the RT for the moderate to large MUs decreased during LT exercise. Both HT and LT exercise resulted in the recruitment of additional higher threshold MUs in order to maintain torque production. However, throughout exercise, HT required the recruitment of larger MUs than did LT exercise. In a few cases, however, MUs were recruited by individuals during LT exercise that were similar in size and original (pre) RT to those detected during HT exercise. Thus, the ability to achieve full MU recruitment during LT exercise may be dependent on the subject. Consequently, our data emphasize the task and subject dependency of muscle fatigue.

Previous investigations have reported a relationship between skeletal muscle phenotype and motor unit (MU) firing parameters during submaximal contractions. The purpose of the current investigation, however, was to examine the relationships between motor unit firing behavior during a maximal voluntary contraction, Myosin Heavy Chain (MHC) isoform content, and various molecular neuromuscular targets of the vastus lateralis (VL) muscle in resistance‐trained men. Ten resistance‐trained males completed a trapezoidal ramp contraction up to 100% of their maximal voluntary isometric strength (MVIC). Surface electromyography was recorded from the VL using a multichannel electrode array and decomposed to examine the firing characteristics of individual MUs. A skeletal muscle biopsy of the VL was also collected from each subject. Regression analyses were performed to identify relationships between type II fiber area and the slopes and/or intercepts of the mean firing rate (FRMEAN) versus recruitment threshold (RT), max firing rate (FRMAX) versus RT, and RT versus MU action potential amplitude (MUAPPP) relationships. There were significant inverse relationships between type II fiber area and the y‐intercept of the FR versus RT relationship (P < 0.05). Additionally, strong relationships (r > 0.5) were found between type II fiber area and FRMEAN versus RT slope and RT versus MUAPPP slope and intercept. These data further support the hypothesis that skeletal muscle phenotype is related to MU behavior during isometric contraction. However, our data, in concert with previous investigations, may suggest that these relationships are influenced by the intensity of the contraction.