Relationships Among Shoulder Rotational Strength, Range of Motion, Pitching Kinetics, and Pitch Velocity in Collegiate Baseball Pitchers. J Strength Cond Res 2023 Jan 01;37(1):129-135
Date
03/26/2022Pubmed ID
35333195DOI
10.1519/JSC.0000000000004246Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85144135628 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 3 CitationsAbstract
Cross, JA, Higgins, AW, Dziuk, CC, Harris, GF, and Raasch, WG. Relationships among shoulder rotational strength, range of motion, pitching kinetics, and pitch velocity in collegiate baseball pitchers. J Strength Cond Res 37(1): 129-135, 2023-Throwing shoulder injuries are the most common type of injury experienced by baseball pitchers. Weakness in the shoulder musculature and insufficient throwing arm range of motion are both risk factors for developing a shoulder injury. The goal of this study was to determine correlations among shoulder rotational strength, range of motion, pitching kinetics, and pitch velocity in collegiate pitchers. Thirteen uninjured male college pitchers were evaluated. Clinical measures included shoulder internal and external rotation range of motion, peak isokinetic internal and external rotator strength, and peak isometric internal and external rotator strength. Three-dimensional biomechanics were assessed as subjects threw from an indoor pitching mound to a strike zone net at regulation distance. Pearson's correlations were used to assess the associations among the clinical measures and throwing metrics. Five significant correlations were found between peak shoulder compressive force and strength, and 4 significant correlations were found between pitching velocity and strength ( p < 0.05). No significant correlations were found between range of motion and pitching kinetics or velocity. Our results suggest that as shoulder rotational strength increases, the peak shoulder compressive force and pitch velocity both increase. Knowledge of relationships between strength metrics and pitching biomechanics may allow for improved strength training routines with the goal of increasing velocity without increasing injury risk.
Author List
Cross JA, Higgins AW, Dziuk CC, Harris GF, Raasch WGAuthors
Janelle A. Cross PhD Assistant Professor in the Orthopaedic Surgery department at Medical College of WisconsinGerald Harris PhD Director in the Orthopaedic Research Engineering Center (OREC) department at Marquette University
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
BaseballBiomechanical Phenomena
Humans
Kinetics
Male
Range of Motion, Articular
Shoulder Joint
Upper Extremity
