A Three-Dimensional Cinematographic Analysis of Upper Limb Movement during Fastball and Curveball Baseball Pitches

Abstract

Joint angle kinematics of the throwing limb from the early-cocking phase to ball release were investigated for the fastball (FB) and curveball (CB) baseball pitches through use of a three-dimensional film analysis technique. Small sticks were fixed to the hand and forearm to permit rotations of the radioulnar and wrist joint to be calculated. The actions were very similar for two pitches within one subject. There were no differences in the motions of the shoulder and elbow joints or in the temporal sequences between FB and CB pitches. However, there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in the motion of supination/pronation of the forearm and dorsiflexion/palmar flexion of the wrist prior to the ball release; the forearm was supinated more in the CB (maximum supination: 39.9 ±6.0° at 0.072 ±0.045 s before ball release, or BRL) compared to the FB (19.4 ±8.5° at 0.076 ±0.046 s before BRL), whereas the wrist was dorsiflexed more in the FB (maximum dorsiflexion: 41.7 ±6.5° at 0.039 ±0.011 s before BRL) compared to the CB (31.2 ±4.7° at 0.036 ±0.013 s before BRL) during late-cocking and acceleration phases leading to the ball release.

The relationship between age and baseball pitching kinematics in professional baseball pitchers

“…The baseball pitching biomechanics of adults have been extensively studied Dillman et al, 1993;Elliott and Grove, 1986;Feltner and Dapena, 1986;Fleisig et al, 1995Fleisig et al, , 1996MacWilliams et al, 1998;Matsuo et al, 2001;Pappas et al, 1985Pappas et al, , 1995Sakurai et al, 1993;Stodden et al, 2005;Vaughn, 1985;Werner et al, 1993). These studies have shown that baseball pitching is a highly demanding task, and proper pitching mechanics are very important in preventing pitching injuries and improving or maintaining performance.…”

Kinetic chain of overarm throwing in terms of joint rotations revealed by induced acceleration analysis

“…Throws in baseball have been characterized in terms of muscle activity (Glousman et al, 1988;Hirashima et al, 2002), joint torque (Fleisig et al, 1995), and joint kinematics (Barrentine et al, 1998;Sakurai et al, 1993). However, knowledge of the cause-and-effect relation among these variables is severely lacking, although it is fundamental knowledge for improving and maintaining athletes' performance.…”

A biomechanical comparison of dominant and non-dominant arm throws for speed and accuracy

“…A throw can be assessed kinematically by dividing it into smaller phases, which commonly include phases such as the wind-up, stride, arm-cocking, arm acceleration, arm deceleration, and follow-through phases (Braatz and Gogia, 1987;Dillman, Fleisig, and Andrews, 1993;Feltner, 1989;Fleisig, Barrentine, Escamilla, and Andrews, 1996;Sakurai, Ikegami, Okamoto, Yabe, and Toyoshima, 1993;Vaughan, 1990). Various movements are performed in each phase, and the limbs are considered to contribute sequentially in a throw for speed (Kreighbaum and Barthels, 1996).…”