Research article - (2008)07, 223 - 228
The Role of Shoulder Maximum External Rotation During Throwing for Elbow Injury Prevention in Baseball Players
Koji Miyashita1,, Yukio Urabe2, Hirokazu Kobayashi3, Kiyoshi Yokoe3, Sentaro Koshida4, Morio Kawamura5, Kunio Ida1
1Research Institute of Life and Health, Chubu University, 1200 Matsumoto-cho, Kasugai, Aichi, Japan
2Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
3Institute of Sports Medicine and Science, Aichi, Japan
4Dept. of Judotherapy and Sports Medicine, Ryotokuji University, Chiba, Japan
5Dept. of PT Science, Nagoya University School of Health Sciences, Aichi, Japan

Koji Miyashita
✉ Research Institute of Life and Health, Chubu University, 1200 Matsumoto-cho, Kasugai, Aichi, Japan
Email: kmiyashita@isc.chubu.ac.jp
Received: 30-10-2007 -- Accepted: 06-03-2008
Published (online): 01-06-2008

ABSTRACT

The objective of the present study was to examine whether the passive range of shoulder external rotation (ER), the maximum shoulder external rotation angle (MER) during throwing, and the ratio of MER to ER are related to the incidence of the elbow injury. A mixed design with one between-factor (a history of the elbow injury) and two within-factors (ER and MER) was used to analyze the difference between baseball players with and without a history of medial elbow pain. Twenty high school baseball players who had experienced the medial elbow pain within the previous month but who were not experiencing the pain on the day of the experiment were recruited (elbow-injured group). Another twenty baseball players who had never experienced the medial elbow pain were also used for testing (control group). MER during throwing, ER, and the ratio of MER to ER were obtained in both of the group. A Mann-Whitney test was used for the group comparison (p < 0.05). The ratio of MER to ER was significantly greater in the elbow-injured group (1.52 ± 0.19) than that in the control group (1.33 ± 0.23) (p = 0.008). On the other hand, there was no statistical significance in MER and ER between two groups. The findings of the study indicate that MER/ER relation could be associated with the incidence of the elbow injury in baseball players.

Key words: Throwing, shoulder, maximum external rotation, elbow valgus stress, prevention.

Key Points
  • It is accepted that the greatest elbow valgus stress appears at the position of shoulder maximum external rotation (MER) in the acceleration phase of the throwing movement. As a consequence, shoulders with restricted range of motion of external rotation (ER) compensate with a valgus stress on their elbow joints.
  • In this study, we evaluated the relation between MER and ER of shoulder in players with/without elbow injuries.
  • The result of this study demonstrated that the elbow injured group showed significantly greater MER/ER relation than the control group.
  • The current finding suggests that great MER combined with the ROM restriction may be one of the risk factors to cause medial elbow pain in baseball players.








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