Pelvic Rotation Torque During Fast-Pitch Softball Hitting Under Three Ball Height Conditions

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relevance of hip joint angles to the production of the pelvic rotation torque in fast-pitch softball hitting and to examine the effect of ball height on this production. Thirteen advanced female softball players hit stationary balls at three different heights: high, middle, and low. The pelvic rotation torque, defined as the torque acting on the pelvis through the hip joints about the pelvic superior-inferior axis, was determined from the kinematic and force plate data using inverse dynamics. Irrespective of the ball heights, the rear hip extension, rear hip external rotation, front hip adduction, and front hip flexion torques contributed to the production of pelvic rotation torque. Although the contributions of the adduction and external rotation torques at each hip joint were significantly different among the ball heights, the contributions of the front and rear hip joint torques were similar among the three ball heights owing to cancelation of the two torque components. The timings of the peaks of the hip joint torque components were significantly different, suggesting that softball hitters may need to adjust the timings of the torque exertions fairly precisely to rotate the upper body effectively.

Kinematic differences between hitting off a tee versus front toss in collegiate softball players

“…It should, however, be noted that each participant executes swings from a stationary tee and front toss daily, especially during competition season when most of these data were collected. Additionally, because the front toss condition Lino et al 2014;Ae et al 2016). The observed results reject the null hypothesis in that the examined participants displayed different positions at specific events throughout the hitting motion, during both the tee and front toss condition.…”

“…Previously, kinematics and kinetics of hitting from a tee as well as front toss have been individually examined in baseball and softball athletes (Katsumata 2007;Inkster et al 2010;Fleisig et al 2013;Lino et al 2014;Ae et al 2016;Dowling and Fleisig 2016). Baseball players of high skill level were found to have significantly higher lead elbow angular velocity and hip rotation velocity compared to their counterparts of lower skill level (Inkster et al 2010).…”

“…At ball contact, adult baseball hitters exhibit significantly greater back shoulder abduction and less back elbow flexion, indicating that they hold the bat further away from the body at this instant (Dowling and Fleisig 2016). In examination of kinetics, it was found that elite baseball athletes exhibit different upper extremity torques when hitting pitches of varying height (Ae et al 2016), and, among softball athletes, pelvis rotation torque prior to ball contact also differs as a function of pitch height (Lino et al 2014). Therefore, it can be determined that certain factors, namely skill level, age, and pitch location, do influence hitting kinematics and kinetics in baseball and softball athletes.…”

“…It was hypothesized that significant differences in mechanics at the lead knee, pelvis, and trunk would be observed between conditions. Specifically, the front toss condition would result in increased lead knee flexion, pelvis rotation towards the lead side, trunk rotation towards the lead side, trunk lateral flexion towards the back side, and trunk flexion as compared to the stationary tee condition, because it is known that variances in ball height and velocity can result in different swing mechanics at these segments (Katsumata 2007;Lino et al 2014;Ae et al 2016).…”

Behavioral Measures in a Cognitive-Motor Batting Task Explain Real Game Performance of Top Athletes

“…Many studies in sports biomechanics and training science have investigated multiple aspects of batting motion, such as kinematics (Welch et al, 1995;Escamilla et al, 2009;Inkster et al, 2011;Iino et al, 2014) and kinetics (Shaffer et al, 1993;Nakata et al, 2013). These studies, where participants swung against a stationary ball or a ball traveling at a constant speed, characterized the physiological and mechanical factors required for powerful and accurate action but did not address the cognitive aspects.…”