Effect of Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficit on Shoulder in Baseball Pitchers during Fastball Pitching

Hwai-Ting Lin, Yu-Chuan Lin, You-Li Chou, Hung-Chien Wu, Rong-Tyai Wang and Paul Pei-His Chou
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Hwai-Ting Lin: Department of Sport Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Yu-Chuan Lin: Division of Sport Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
You-Li Chou: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Hung-Chien Wu: Department of Engineering Science, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Rong-Tyai Wang: Department of Engineering Science, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Paul Pei-His Chou: Department of Sport Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-11

Abstract: Previous studies have reported that pitchers with glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD) may increase the risk of shoulder injury. However, limited information is available regarding the specific effects of GIRD in baseball pitching. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether baseball pitchers with GIRD change their pitching mechanism. Fifteen baseball pitchers with GIRD and 15 pitchers without GIRD were recruited from university or senior high-school teams. A three-dimensional motion analysis system (Eagle System, Motion Analysis Corporation, Santa Rosa, CA, USA) was used to capture the pitching motion while performing fastball pitches. The kinematics and kinetics of the throwing shoulder and trunk were analyzed based on motion captured data. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to test the differences of the analyzed parameters between two groups. At the instant of ball release, the GIRD group showed lower shoulder external rotation and trunk rotation, and larger shoulder horizontal adduction. In addition, the GIRD group exhibited a significantly larger shoulder inferior force in the cocking and acceleration phase, and a significantly larger internal rotation torque in the acceleration phase. The present results suggested that pitchers with GIRD need stretch training to enlarge joint range of motion, and to improve trunk strength and flexibility to alleviate potential problems associated with pitching in GIRD pitchers.

Keywords: pitching mechanism; shoulder injury; kinesiology; baseball; motion analyses; glenohumeral internal rotation deficit; kinematic; kinetic; passive marker (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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