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One claim of Baseball is “We are the sport without a clock.” With this being a basic building block of the sport, the game is generally viewed as being one of slow pace with intermittent action. However, fans, players, parents and coaches may not be aware that Baseball is in possession of the highest angular velocities seen in all sports. As exciting as that may be, when viewing this from the world of human performance, throwing a baseball is a stress which places players at the fringe of injury with each and every throw.
Throwing is an innate movement pattern for which human have utilized for a multitude of objectives. Despite the average thought process of players, parents and coaches throwing has always been and will always remain a whole-body activity. Utilization of the whole body allows for proper form and ability to generate appropriate power.
As we age, the throwing pattern becomes easier to accomplish despite the many movement flaws which may occur in our system. In the old days, our body was able to adapt to the stresses and respond appropriately; however, it was not until the creation of Baseball in 1839(most important date in history) that volume was introduced to the throwing pattern.
With this added volume, our body’s efficiency of maintaining a homeostatic environment was put to the test. The stresses of throwing a baseball are similar to those of high intensity training and should be treated in a similar manner to ensure the maintenance of proper arm health. When we throw a baseball with volume, the experience is deemed as a threat to our body’s homeostasis and significant events to repair the damage take place. Substantial changes in the tissues are seen objectively as fatigue, muscle soreness, and loss of function, specifically in regards to shoulder internal rotation. At this time mobility exercises and rest are important to ensure that adequate regeneration occurs. However, if another event occurs prior to the body reaching full regeneration; a continued breakdown occurs within the tissues. An example that best explains this is that of a bank account. It is normal to withdrawal money out of your account (pitch), and sometimes this occurs more frequently than one would like. Yet, if deposits (rest and regeneration) do not occur at a similar rate eventually the money will run out (injury).
Arm health has always been seen as important to baseball players and exercises have been created to incorporate the strengthening of the rotator cuff musculature. One area that continues to lack attention is the lower body. Without proper hip mobility and stability a pitcher is forced to throw a baseball using the arm to generate a majority of the force, thus placing adverse stresses on tissues not designed to handle the stresses. This non-optimal hip mobility and/or stability may be the underlying cause of shoulder and elbow pain and even soft tissue injuries.
A simple exercise for looking at this piece of the puzzle is the Single Leg Stance test. A pitcher should be able to maintain single leg stance on stance leg for 30 seconds without trunk compensations. The more imbalanced a player is the higher the risk.
Hope this article was found informative to both coaches and athletes. Keep in mind, an injury to the shoulder decreases the chances of reaching the next level by 50%. If you have questions, concerns or would like to schedule an Injury Risk Screen, please contact us.