Elbow Joint Active Replication in College Pitchers Following Simulated Game Throwing

Abstract

Background:Elbow injuries are common in college baseball players. Pitching creates stress and fatigue in and around the elbow. Lack of joint proprioception can contribute to nonphysiological joint loading and injury.Hypothesis:There will be no difference in elbow joint active reproduction sense following a simulated 3-inning pitching sequence.Study Design:Cross-sectional study.Methods:Seventeen collegiate pitchers participated. Each pitcher was bilaterally tested for active elbow range of motion using goniometric technique. Percentages of motion determined positions for further study of elbow joint active replication sense (20%, 35%, 50%, 80%). The elbow was passively taken to a position and held for 10 seconds, then returned to full extension. Pitchers were asked to actively reproduce the angle. The opposite elbow was tested in the same manner. One week later, prethrowing joint position reproduction was tested; then a simulated 3-inning game was thrown. Immediately afterward, elbow joint active replication testing was performed. A repeated-measures analysis of variance analyzed differences.Results:No change in active joint reproduction occurred in the nondominant elbow at any angle tested. Dominant elbows demonstrated significant losses of active joint reproduction following throwing. Significant differences occurred at the 35% and 80% angles (P < .05).Conclusion:Active elbow joint replication sense may be compromised following 3 innings of throwing. Because joint proprioception is thought to be an important component of joint stabilization, an alteration in joint position sense may increase the risk of elbow injury during throwing.Clinical Relevance:Pitching may cause a loss of active elbow joint replication.

Relationship between Joint Position Sense, Force Sense, and Muscle Strength and the Impact of Gymnastic Training on Proprioception

“…Moreover, as FS is more accurate in the upper limb [ 20 ], research at the elbow joint may yield different results. A good proprioception in the elbow joint is necessary to achieve high performance in sports like gymnastics, baseball, and basketball and many others [ 21 , 22 ]. On the other hand, sport activities often lead to injuries which impair proprioception in the elbow joint.…”

College Pitchers Demonstrate Directional Differences in Shoulder Joint Position Sense Compared With Controls

“…Our findings are in agreement with previous research in that there were observable JPS differences between the throwing and nonthrowing shoulder of overhead athletes. [14][15][16]20,22,36,37 However, we were unable to detect side-to-side differences in shoulder accuracy. Previous studies have used absolute error to determine accuracy and have found contrasting results regarding the throwing shoulder.…”

“…13 Many studies have investigated proprioception in a variety of overhead athletes. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] However, few studies have focused on a comparison between pitching and nonpitching shoulders in baseball players. Compared with nonthrowing arms in a passive protocol, deficits were found in the throwing shoulder during a threshold detection task, 20 a joint position sense (JPS) task, 22 and a latent muscle reaction test.…”

Elbow joint position sense after total elbow arthroplasty

“…18,21,22 Researchers have focused on different aspects of elbow proprioception and the effect of different factors, including normal elbow, anesthetized, soft tissue degeneration, neurogenic disorders, exercises, and throwing. 2,14,18,29,38,41,42 To our best knowledge, no study has investigated elbow proprioception after TEA, and those studies with other joint replacements have not been numerous. 3,20 TEA is currently a reliable surgical option for patients with a broad variety of indications, although some treatment problems and complications might be challenging.…”