Abstract
Background:Medial elbow injuries are common among baseball pitchers. Easily accessed methods to assess medial elbow stress may be useful in identifying individuals with increased injury risk.Hypothesis:Pitch velocity (PV) is positively associated with higher medial elbow adduction moments.Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.Methods:Participants included 26 uninjured high school pitchers, 15 to 18 years in age. Three-dimensional data and PV were collected as athletes threw 10 fastballs for strikes to a regulation-distance target. Variables of interest were the normalized peak internal elbow adduction moment and peak PV. Linear regression was performed to evaluate the influence of PV on the adduction moment.Results:For the group, mean PV was 71 mph (range, 58-81 mph), and the adduction moment was 0.558 Nm/Ht × mass (range, 0.378-0.723). PV was positively associated with the adduction moment (P < 0.01, R2= 0.373).Conclusions:Talented young pitchers may be more susceptible to elbow injuries as a consequence of a biomechanical coupling between PV and upper extremity joint moments.Clinical Relevance:PV may be measured easily and serve as an indicator of medial elbow stress.
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