Evaluation of wrist and forearm motion in college-aged baseball pitchers

Abstract

Current pitching literature focuses primarily on the elbow and glenohumeral joints. This has led to a paucity of information regarding the forearm and wrist, and the limited data available are inconsistent. Therefore, this article seeks to provide a comprehensive description of the kinematics and kinetics of the wrist and forearm for the fastball, curveball, slider/cutter, and change-up for college-level baseball pitchers. Thirty-six collegiate pitchers were evaluated using motion analysis techniques. Results indicated that pitching the curveball generated the greatest forearm supination (16 ± 13°) compared with the other three pitch types (p < 0.05). The curveball and slider/cutter were pitched with less wrist extension and greater ulnar deviation compared with the fastball and change-up. The curveball was found to produce the greatest ulnar moment (7.3 ± 2.2 Nm) and was significantly different from the moments noted when pitching the fastball and change-up (5.1 ± 1.9 and 4.9 ± 1.9 Nm, respectively; p < 0.05). These results indicate that it may be possible to objectively determine pitch type from kinematic data of the wrist and forearm. It may also be possible that coaches may be able to identify abnormal pitching mechanics from more proximal segments by understanding the motion of the wrist.