In one of the early seminal papers on pitcher inury and prevention, Shanley et al. (2012) measured 12 pitcher’s passive range of motion (ROM). Passive range of motion is measured using a goniometer as the researcher stretches the pitcher as far as they can. Active ROM is where the pitcher moves as far as they can by themselves. In this study they focused on the shoulder, measuring internal and external rotation as well as the total arc (internal + external) and shoulder horizontal adduction passive ROM.
They found:
- There were no significant relationships between ROM and pitching volume or injury incidence.
Implications: I always look at the stats first to see what we are dealing with. I think the pitching volume is a little low for what we normally see in our pitchers, but the ROM looks normal. Remember with ROM that over the course of a game, week, season and career, ROM will decrease as reported in other studies. And like other studies, ROM is NOT related to injury. However, it is important to monitor ROM because dramatic increases and decreases in an individual pitcher could cause a problem or may indicate a problem. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind. This also leads to problems in overhand throws late in the game. Because overhand throwing generates large ROM, I always encourage pitchers to throw overhand everyday. Not high intensity overhand throwing (unless you play a position that requires big throws i.e. left side infield and outfield), but some sort of overhand throwing.
People to Follow
There is a research study that I encourage everyone to participate in. Check this out if you have a few minutes. I will be doing this today:
We are AI researchers working on a project that explores the use of AI tools to assist with pitcher evaluation and decision-making in baseball. We are in the information-gathering stage and are seeking input from coaches regarding their current practices as well as attitudes towards such a tool. If you can spare approximately 10 minutes, we would be grateful if you could complete our survey here: https://msstate.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b9kOmzi2mBanhyK
Your feedback would be incredibly helpful! For more details or if you’re interested in participating in an online interview, feel free to reach out to me directly at din7@msstate.edu. Thank you in advance for your time and insights!
