Throwing Athlete

• 1. The Throwing Athlete Prevention & Care of Athletic Injuries KNR 199

2. Throwing Motion

• Includes:

• • Wind-up

• • Early cocking

• • Late cocking

• • Acceleration

• • Deceleration & follow through

3. Wind-Up

• Establishes rhythm

• Positions segments of body to contribute to forward propulsion of ball

4. Early Cocking

• Shoulder

• • 90 abduction (ABD)

• • 30 horizontal ABD

• • 90-120 ER

• Elbow 90 flexion

• Wrist neutral

5. Late Cocking

• Trunk rotates forward

• Scapula retracts

• Shoulder

• • 90 ABD

• • Neutral horizontal ABD

• • 160 ER

• Elbow 90 flexion

• Wrist slightly extended

• Lead leg rotated toward target

6. Acceleration

• Scapula protracts

• Shoulder

• • Internally rotates

• • Horizontally adducts

• Elbow extends

• Forearm pronates

• Wrist flexes

7. Acceleration

• Occurs in 0.05 seconds

• Peak angular velocity

• • Shoulder: 6000/sec

• • Elbow: 2300-4500/sec

8. Deceleration & Follow Through

• Shoulder continues to IR & horiz ADD

• Elbow flexes

• Body moves forward

9. Warning Signs: Upper Extremity

• Contralateral elbow is used as sight

• Throwing arm trails

• Werner et al, 2001

10. Warning Signs: Lower Extremity

• Decreased torso & hip rotation ROM

• Decreased trunk & hip rotation strength

11. Throwing Athletes ROM 12. Total Arc of Motion

• Healthy throwers have 180

180 ER IR 13. Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficit (GIRD)

• Difference in internal rotation of dominant arm compared to non-dominant arm

14. Humeral Retroversion

• Adaptive change of bony architecture

• • Acute angle in medial & posterior direction between axis of elbow joint & axis through center of humeral head

Pieper, 1998 15. Doyle & Burks, 1998 16. Soft-Tissue Adaptations

• Tight posterior IGHL

• • Shift in GH contact point

17. Additional Resources

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oegAQ9__a2g

• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2324033820881485235&q=pitching+mechanics

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjVbEPfQKag