Hip and Glenohumeral Rotational Range of Motion in Healthy Professional Baseball Pitchers and Position Players

Sauers, Eric L.; Bliven, Kellie C. Huxel; Johnson, Michael P.; Falsone, Susan; Walters, Sheri

doi:10.1177/0363546513508537

Cited by 90 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In agreement with several previous studies in young [14][15][16] and adult [1][2][3] baseball players, our study showed that the shoulder IR ROM on the throwing side was decreased in comparison with that on the non-throwing side in young baseball players with medial elbow injuries. Dines et al 4) reported that adolescent pitchers with side-to-side differences in shoulder IR ROM of >13° had 6 times greater risk of throwing injuries.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Our study had no control group. However, many previous studies indicated that shoulder ER ROM is increased on the throwing side in comparison with the non-throwing side in young [14][15][16] and adult [1][2][3] baseball players. Therefore, the shoulder ER ROM deficit on the throwing side in our study might be a specific symptom in young baseball players with medial elbow injuries.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Numerous studies have shown that repetitive throwing alters mechanical physiology, particularly affecting range of motion (ROM) of upper extremities. It is widely known that shoulder external rotation (ER) ROM tends to increase, while shoulder internal rotation (IR) ROM tends to decrease on the throwing side compared to the non-throwing side in adult baseball players [1][2][3] . In particular, shoulder IR ROM deficit was found to be a risk factor for medial elbow injuries 4,5) .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Side-to-side differences in range of motion, muscle strength, and medial elbow laxity in young baseball players with medial elbow injuries

Morifuji

Nakao

Inaba

et al. 2017

JPFSM

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Medial elbow injuries lead to significant performance decrement in baseball.Repetitive throwing alters mechanical physiology. Some of such changes can increase the risk of medial elbow injuries. However, in young baseball players with medial elbow injuries, these changes have not been fully investigated. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanical physiological changes in young baseball players with medial elbow injuries. Sideto-side differences in (1) range of motion (ROM) of shoulder external rotation (ER)/internal rotation (IR), elbow flexion/extension, forearm supination/pronation, trunk rotation, and hip ER/IR; (2) strength of middle trapezius, lower trapezius (LT), and supraspinatus muscles, and shoulder ER/IR; and (3) medial elbow laxity were measured. Side-to-side differences were significant (p < 0.05). ROM of shoulder ER/IR, elbow flexion/extension, forearm pronation, and hip IR on the throwing side were significantly decreased compared to the non-throwing side. Trunk rotation in the direction of the throwing side was significantly decreased compared to the non-throwing side. LT and shoulder IR strength on the throwing side were significantly greater, while shoulder ER strength on the throwing side was significantly weaker than the non-throwing side. Medial elbow joint space of the throwing side was significantly wider than the nonthrowing side. In other measurements, no significant differences were observed between the throwing and non-throwing side. According to our findings, young baseball players with medial elbow injuries experience many side-to-side differences in mechanical physiology. The most interesting finding was that younger players with medial elbow injuries displayed decreased shoulder ER ROM, versus an increase reported in many previous studies.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Side-to-side differences in range of motion, muscle strength, and medial elbow laxity in young baseball players with medial elbow injuries

Morifuji

Nakao

Inaba

et al. 2017

JPFSM

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“…13,14 Investigation suggests a relationship between hip and shoulder ROM and shoulder injury; however, this relationship has not been found in healthy professional baseball athletes. 12 For pitchers and position athletes, Scher et al 4 found a moderate relationship between dominant-shoulder external-rotation ROM and nondominant hip-extension ROM in pitchers (r ¼ .62) and nonpitchers (r ¼ -.64) with a history of injury.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The importance of the kinetic chain is well accepted, yet research examining its effect on shoulder injury, specifically hip ROM and strength, is limited to adult populations. 4,12,13 The hips play an important role in the throwing motion; effective lead-leg ROM is necessary to generate force through the upper extremity to produce greater ball velocity. 13,14 Investigation suggests a relationship between hip and shoulder ROM and shoulder injury; however, this relationship has not been found in healthy professional baseball athletes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Glenohumeral and Hip Range-of-Motion and Strength Measures in Youth Baseball Athletes

Picha

Harding

Bliven

2016

Journal of Athletic Training

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Context: The repetitive demands of throwing affect glenohumeral (GH) range of motion (ROM) and strength. Less is known about hip alterations in skeletally immature athletes.Objective: To compare GH and hip ROM and strength between age, position, and side of youth baseball athletes.Design: Cross-sectional study. Main Outcome Measure(s): Bilateral GH and hip internaland external-rotation ROM were measured passively and summed for total arc of motion (TAM). Glenohumeral and hip rotation and gluteus medius strength were measured. Analyses included linear mixed models.Results: Glenohumeral internal rotation was less in throwing than in nonthrowing arms (P , .05) except in younger pitchers (P ¼ .86). Compared with older athletes, younger athletes had more GH external rotation (103.38 6 7.78 versus 97.58 6 9.48; P ¼ .002), TAM (156.48 6 8.78 versus 147.98 6 10.98; P ¼ .04), and external rotation in throwing compared with nonthrowing arms (101.98 6 1.28 versus 97.98 6 1.18; P , .001). Glenohumeral TAM was less in throwing than in nonthrowing arms (150.58 6 2.18 versus 154.98 6 1.38; P ¼ .01). Younger athletes had more hip internal rotation (38.98 6 6.88 versus 31.28 6 7.58; P , .001) and TAM (68.48 6 10.08 versus 60.78 6 9.88; P ¼ .001) than older athletes. Lead-leg hip internal-rotation ROM was greater than in the stance leg (34.88 6 8.98 versus 32.88 6 7.78; P ¼ .01). Overall, older players were stronger than younger players (P , .05), and the throwing arm was stronger in internal rotation than the nonthrowing arm (10.12 6 3.72 lb [4.59 6 1.69 kg] versus 9.43 6 3.18 lb [4.28 6 1.44 kg]; P ¼ .047).Conclusions: Youth baseball athletes had typical GH ROM adaptations of less internal rotation and more external rotation in the throwing versus the nonthrowing arm. Greater ROM in younger athletes may be explained by prepubertal characteristics. We obtained hip-strength values in youth baseball athletes, and as expected, older athletes were stronger.Key Words: shoulder, kinetic chain, adolescents, throwing athletes Key PointsYouth baseball athletes showed glenohumeral and hip adaptations between age groups. Glenohumeral range-of-motion adaptations typical in baseball athletes-less internal rotation and more external rotation-were present in participants as young as 8 years old.

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Strength and Motion in the Shoulder, Elbow, and Hip in Softball Windmill Pitchers

West

Scarborough

McInnis

et al. 2019

PM&R

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Background: Softball pitching is a ballistic, complex movement that requires an underhand windmill motion to create force and ball velocity. In addition to proper pitch biomechanics, upper and lower extremity strength and joint motion likely contribute to ball location accuracy and velocity. Yet, the number of studies reporting muscle strength and joint range of motion among softball pitchers is scarce.Objective: To assess differences between throwing and nonthrowing shoulder, elbow, and hip (lead and trail leg) strength and range of motion (ROM) in high school and collegiate level softball windmill pitchers. Design: Cross-sectional study. Participants: Thirty-three female softball pitchers (24 high school, 9 collegiate) were recruited from local teams. Methods: Goniometric joint ROM and handheld dynamometer strength measurements of the bilateral shoulders, elbows, and hips were measured. Main Outcome Measurements: Goniometric joint ROM of the bilateral elbows (flexion, extension), shoulders, and hips (flexion, extension, internal rotation [IR], external rotation [ER]). Handheld dynamometer strength measurements of the bilateral shoulders (flexion, extension, abduction, IR, ER), elbows (flexion, extension), and hips (flexion, extension, IR, ER, abduction). Results: Across all pitchers, there was greater shoulder flexion ROM in the nonthrowing limb than in the throwing limb (P = .004). There was greater hip extension in the lead leg than trail leg. Among high school pitchers, there was greater shoulder ER (x = 105.792 AE 7.11) than collegiate pitchers (x = 100.1 AE 6.92), P = .05. There was no difference in total arc of shoulder rotational motion (ER+ IR) between throwing and nonthrowing limbs across all pitchers, nor between high school and collegiate pitchers. Strength measures demonstrated greater throwing limb shoulder abduction (P = .006) and IR strength (P = .001) than the nonthrowing shoulder across all pitchers. Elbow flexion strength was significantly greater than the nonthrowing side (P = .001). No difference was noted in hip strength between lead and trail lower extremities. Conclusions: Developing normative data for softball pitchers upper and lower extremity strength and range of motion may allow providers to assess players more comprehensively and identify athletes out of the expected value range. This information may help in guiding strength and conditioning programs for softball pitchers.

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Hip and Glenohumeral Rotational Range of Motion in Healthy Professional Baseball Pitchers and Position Players

Cited by 90 publications

References 24 publications

Side-to-side differences in range of motion, muscle strength, and medial elbow laxity in young baseball players with medial elbow injuries

Side-to-side differences in range of motion, muscle strength, and medial elbow laxity in young baseball players with medial elbow injuries

Glenohumeral and Hip Range-of-Motion and Strength Measures in Youth Baseball Athletes

Strength and Motion in the Shoulder, Elbow, and Hip in Softball Windmill Pitchers

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