ANALYSIS OF BASEBALL PITCHING: AN INVESTIGATION OF SHOULDER EXAM, BIOMECHANICS, AND INJURY

Throwing arm injuries are common because of the demand on the shoulder. Shoulder exams and pitching mechanics are regularly monitored by team physicians. Excessive instability and joint loading in baseball pitching are risk factors for throwing arm injuries. Altering baseball pitching mechanics affects both performance and the risk of injury. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship among injuries, shoulder exam variables, and pitching biomechanics in collegiate baseball pitchers. Pitching biomechanics, shoulder exam tests, and self-reported injury questionnaires were used to study 177 collegiate baseball pitchers. Pitching biomechanics where high-speed cameras record the athlete pitching. This allows us to capture both the athletes body position and calculate joint loadings. Shoulder exam tests where the athletes lay on their backs and their shoulder range of motion, flexibility, and stiffness is measured. Injury questionnaires is where the athletes report if they have had any injuries or surgeries. Our findings show that the shoulder exam, pitching biomechanics, and injury questionnaire variables are related. The ability to understand the relationship between shoulder exam variables, baseball pitching mechanics, and injuries helps further our knowledge and pushes forward the underlying goal of this study which is to improve performance and reduce injuries.