Certain elements of a pitcher’s throwing mechanics can increase the risk for elbow injuries, according to information presented by Kevin Wilk, DPT, from Champion Sports Medicine, in Birmingham, Alabama, and colleagues.
The researchers examined 296 Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers throughout 8 seasons between 2005 and 2012. Pitchers with a deficit of more than five degrees in total range of motion (TRM) in their dominant shoulder had a 2.3 times higher risk of injury, while pitchers with a deficit of five or more degrees in shoulder flexion of the dominant shoulder had a 2.8 times higher risk of injury.
“Overhead throwing athletes like baseball pitchers are already prone to a unique set of elbow injuries,” included Dr. Wilk, who also noted, “with this in mind, we wanted to explore whether specific elements of the throwing motion can contribute to a greater injury risk.”
Patients’ passive range of motion (PROM) measurements for the study were assessed by clinicians with more than 35 years of experience, including 30 years of combined experience performing spring training physicals for professional baseball players. A bubble goniometer was used to assess PROM of both dominant and non-dominant shoulders. Of the 296 professional pitchers, 505 examinations were conducted. There was a significant impact on the risk of elbow injuries in pitchers with bilateral differences in total rotational motion.
“While we only identified 50 individual elbow injuries in this study, they resulted in an average of 51 days on the disabled list—or about one-fourth of a major league season,” contributed Wilk. “Hopefully our data can help team physicians and athletic trainers work to prevent these types of long-term injury absences,” noted Wilk.