Shoulder Adaptations Among Pitchers and Position Players Over the Course of a Competitive Baseball Season

Abstract

These results suggest that baseball position players develop more scapular upward rotation over the course of a competitive season than pitchers. This discrepancy may increase the pitchers' risk of injury and may partially explain their higher incidence of shoulder injury compared with position players. Therefore, pitchers may benefit from strengthening exercises and stretches aimed at increasing scapular upward rotation throughout the competitive baseball season.

Change in Glenohumeral Rotation and Scapular Position After a Division I Collegiate Baseball Season

“…Among a mixed population of high school female overhead athletes, we previously found a decrease in internal rotation with no significant differences in external rotation or total motion. 22 Similar to the current results, Laudner et al 29 did not find any significant changes in range of motion over the course of a season in professional baseball players. Due to the variety of populations throughout these studies, it is difficult to speculate about the lack of rangeof-motion changes over the season.…”

Glenohumeral range of motion (ROM) and isometric strength of professional team handball athletes, part III: changes over the playing season

“…As a limitation, we know that the evaluation of arc of motion, GIRD and ERG is only isolated factors from a range of functions that are predictors for shoulder injuries [28,44,55]. In a longitudinal assessment of the study protocol we did not include a control group, which would have been difficult because of the high intensity in training and performance from a professional team handball athlete.…”

“…This change may have been a longlasting effect due to capsular or generally structural reactions rather than a repetitive single muscular response of eccentric actions. Studies have shown that overhead athletes with glenohumeral internal impingement syndromes or painful shoulders exhibit decreased IR in their total arcs of motion [10,12,15,44]. Wilk et al [46] determined a total of motion in 170 baseball athletes and found a 2.5-fold greater risk of having an injury at the throwing arm for athletes who have a deficit [5°.…”

Upper Extremity Range of Motion and Pitching Profile of Baseball Pitchers in Japan

“…17 In contrast to these studies, Oyama et al 21 found a significant change in shoulder ROM in high school baseball players over the course of a single season and suggested that the short-term change in shoulder ROM was due to soft tissue change and not bony adaptation.…”