Elbow Biomechanics of Pitching

Abstract

Background:Elbow pain and elbow injuries are common in youth baseball players. It is not clear whether pitching experience and/or age creates biomechanical differences at the elbow and whether these differences place an athlete at greater risk.Hypotheses:(1) Youth pitchers will have differing elbow kinematics with regard to flexion/extension, internal/external rotation, and pronation/supination when compared with nonbaseball athletes and (2) younger youth pitchers will have differing elbow kinematics when compared with older youth pitchers.Study Design:Case-control study.Level of Evidence:Level 4.Methods:Twenty-seven healthy male youths age 10 to 18 years were recruited and divided into an experience group (n = 18 pitchers) and a no experience group (n = 9 nonbaseball athletes). The experience group was subdivided by age into the younger experience subgroup (n = 10 pitchers) and the older experience subgroup (n = 8 pitchers). Biomechanics were recorded using an electromagnetic motion tracking system. Subjects from each group were averaged together, and a Mann-Whitney U test was utilized for statistical analysis.Results:The experience group had greater external rotation during late cocking (−47.8° vs 5.8°) and greater flexion during early cocking (112.8° vs 100.1°). The younger experience subgroup had greater range of motion with supination-pronation during early cocking (21.9° vs 11.2°) and late cocking (5.9° vs 2.0°).Conclusion:Youth athletes with pitching experience had an increase in maximal external rotation in late cocking and maximal flexion in early cocking, which suggests experience may be a factor to these parameters. The age of experienced baseball pitchers may be a factor due to differences observed with supination and pronation.Clinical Relevance:Learning to throw is a skill that leads to changes in elbow motion; however, these changes may be stable once athletes reach grade school age. Minimal differences were noted between the younger and older experience subgroups, which may underscore the importance of teaching proper mechanics at a young age.

A Preliminary Examination of Shoulder Joint Function Following Shoulder Complex Training and In-Season Play in Youth Baseball Players

“…Our initial focus in gaining an understanding of youth baseball player shoulder function was to examine the changes in isokinetic shoulder joint torque and power throughout the majority of the baseball season in conjunction with shoulder complex training via Crossover Symmetry. It has been shown that an increased volume of throwing due to extended playing seasons have led to an increase in throwing-related shoulder and elbow injuries (Hadro et al, 2019). Thus, understanding changes in shoulder complex function during a playing season and the potential impact of a sustainable shoulder-training program is imperative.…”

Biomechanical Evaluation of a Modified Internal Brace Construct for the Treatment of Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injuries

“…11 This phase occurs just prior to front foot plant and is associated with elbow flexion angles ranging from 60° to 90°. 10,19…”

Comparison of Pitching Kinematics between Normal-Weight and Overweight Group in High School Baseball Pitchers

“…At this time, the muscles of the lower limbs need strong muscle strength and power that can be converted into breaking force and push-off force of each body segment while minimizing the loss of ground reaction force (Campbell et al, 2010;Kageyama et al, 2014). As previously described, the knee flexion angle of the stepping foot plays an important role in this process, with an ideal flexion angle of 40°-49° (Fehr et al, 2016).…”

“…This is caused by impingement of the supraspinatus tendon as the gap between the subacromial part and greater humerus joint is narrowed when the arm is lifted excessively and rotated internally (Burkhart et al, 2000;Wu et al, 2022). Accordingly, the clinical guide on analysis of pitching motion reported that when the shoulder rotates externally at the BR event, the shoulder abduction angle must secure mobility of 70-94° (Diffendaffer et al, 2022;Fehr et al, 2016). This suggests that when the arm is raised higher than the shoulder during rotational movement of the shoulder, the pressure applied to the supraspinatus tendon increases, and subsequently, the risk of impingement syndrome increases.…”