Relationships between Throwing Mechanics and Shoulder Distra essays

Relationships between Throwing Mechanics and Shoulder Distra essays This article entitled, Relationships between Throwing Mechanics and Shoulder Distraction in Professional Baseball Pitchers, discusses the strain and increased susceptibility to injury within the shoulder that comes from the extreme forces and torques when pitching a baseball. The article focuses on a study that was done on 40 professional pitchers during the 1998 Cactus League spring training. Using high-speed video data and other specialized instruments, scientists were able to produce some evidence to support the always evident theory that pitching at a higher velocity and bigger work loads, more innings pitched, causes more stress on the shoulder and elbow. These researches came up with many numbers that were a little difficult for me to understand but with their tools, research, and data they explained why pitchers are so injury prone and why ...50% of pitchers experience shoulder or elbow injury sufficient enough to keep them from throwing at some point in their career. A distraction force equal to body weight acts on the shoulder joint as the ball is released from the hand. This force acts along the upper arm as tendons pull the arm away from the joint. When pitching distraction occurs at eh elbow and shoulder joints as the energy in the throwing arm is quickly degenerated after the explosive instant of ball release. Throwing over handed as baseball pitchers do is not a normal movement associated with the body movement and puts an incredible amount of stress on the elbow and shoulder joint. Whereas, throwing under handed as softball players do is and rarely have shoulder or elbow problems. This study was done not only to asse ss the related injuries to pitching but to also provide scientific basis for improved preventive and rehabilitative protocols for baseball pitchers, which could benefit coaches and trainers and more importantly, the pitchers. ...