The Kinetic Chain in Overhand Pitching: Its Potential Role for Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention

Abstract

The overhead throwing motion is a coordinated effort of muscle units from the entire body, culminating with explosive motion of the upper extremity. The throwing motion occurs at a rapid pace, making analysis difficult in real time. Electromyographic studies and high-speed video recordings have provided invaluable details regarding the involved musculature, the sequence of muscle involvement, and associated kinematic variables. The goal of the present article is to provide an overview of the kinetic chain—that is, a detailed description of the muscular coordination during each phase of pitching—and to describe specific types of pitches. An enhanced understanding of the components of the kinetic chain and the phases of the throwing motion can provide important information for rehabilitation, performance enhancement, and injury prevention.

Relationship between the Ball Velocity and Upper Extremity Kinematic Variables during an Overarm Throwing Task of Inexperienced Individuals

“…Trunk angular velocities are especially important in throwing activities because of its high contribution to torque production (Lin et al, 2003;Oyama et al, 2014;Seroyer et al, 2010). Our results can be supported partly by previous researchers because of the consistent positive relationship between some of the participants even though the majority of the group showed no relationship with trunk angular velocities.…”

“…It was reported there were differences in ball velocity and kinematic variables according to the players' levels and pitching type during baseball pitching (Escamilla et al, 1998;Fleisig, Barrentine, Zheng, Escamilla, & Andrews, 1999;Lee, 2007;Woo & Jung, 2009). It was emphasized that higher maximum angular velocities of the trunk and upper extremities are important for faster ball velocities rather than the maximum angles (Fleisig et al, 1999;Seroyer et al, 2010;Werner et al, 2008).…”

Movement pattern components and mastery of an object control skill with error-reduced learning

“…Therefore, we focus on the follow-through component, which is said to represent the rapid deceleration of the throwing arm following object release, which occurs with associated trunk and lower extremity motion to aid dissipation of energy [14]. Kinematic studies have shown that this distal component is directly associated with the force released by the thrower [15] and higher ball velocity [16]. One limitation of this study is that force or velocity was not measured, and future research may aim to measure kinematic variables to verify the current findings.…”

“…The approach not only promoted emergence of the follow-through component of the overhand throw among children with ID, but also facilitated hip/shoulder rotation, which is a preparatory action by which the thrower gains momentum prior to object release contributing to velocity [15]. This component requires a well-coordinated contraction of hip and core musculature, which may be impaired in children with developmental disabilities due to deficits in integrating sensory feedback as a consequence of working memory limitations.…”

Rotator cuff related shoulder pain: Assessment, management and uncertainties

“…Providing a local shoulder based treatment in isolation is an ineffective management strategy in the management of RCRSP and typically results in suboptimal outcomes. Clinicians and patients need to appreciate that many activities require that energy is transferred from the lower to upper limbs through the trunk and an inability to transfer energy from the lower limbs may result in increased demands on the shoulder (Kibler, 1995, Kibler and Chandler, 1995, Sciascia and Cromwell, 2012, Seroyer et al , 2010, potentially leading to local overload and local symptoms. This is easy to appreciate and the clinician can facilitate this by asking the patient to describe how they would throw a ball, serve in tennis or perform some other similar activity.…”