Estimation of Shoulder Behavior From the Viewpoint of Minimized Shoulder Joint Load Among Adolescent Baseball Pitchers.

Abstract

During pitching, an overloaded joint reaction force exerted on the shoulder and excessive shoulder horizontal abduction at ball release are considered risk factors causing anterior shoulder pain for young baseball pitchers. Hypothesis/Purpose: The first aim was to examine the relationship between shoulder horizontal abduction position and force on the shoulder at ball release. The second was to identify the relative rotational position of the shoulder and the range of shoulder motion at ball release that minimize force on the shoulder. It was hypothesized that the amount of force on the shoulder would be exacerbated by excessive shoulder horizontal abduction.