![underhand throw baseball underhand throw baseball](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ko1y6-qM0Zo/hqdefault.jpg)
During this stage, muscle groups, elbow joints, and the shoulder perform extreme compression to slow the arm. This stage is considered to be the amount of time between ball release to the end of arm movement. It is also a very violent activity with tremendous kinetic energy that can cause soft-tissue trauma or even bone breakage.
![underhand throw baseball underhand throw baseball](http://www.baseballbytheyard.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/20130514__130515Twinsinsideearly.jpg)
This is the fastest human body motion we are capable of. When the elbow begins the "drag" the forearm and the shoulder internally rotates counterclockwise, the chest/hips/abdominals. The chest contributes greatly to arm speed. Essentially, what is going on is that the elbow is the only part of the body holding on to the forearm and the components of the elbow (ligaments/tendons/etc) are not extremely strong areas of the human arm - younger players are especially susceptible to high biomechanical forces because of the lack of dynamic strength/stability. During this part of the throw, the elbow joint begins to experience valgus stress (see Valgus Stress for details). If the arm is put into anything besides the high-cock position (as shown to right) then the elbow is usually below the shoulder and can cause a mechanically incorrect throw leading to injury.Īt the point where the arm reaches maximal acceleration with forearm bent back literally being "dragged" by the bicep/tricep, the elbow joint begins to extend and the shoulder rotates toġ38 degrees. In the beginning of an overhand throw, the cocking of the arm can often determine the arm slot a thrower will use (arm slot is the path of the arm from the beginning of the throw until its conclusion).
![underhand throw baseball underhand throw baseball](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/560x560/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/18/209/sb10068701i-001.jpg)
Most sports medicine physicians divide the overhand throw into 5 basic movements:įor ThrowMAX purposes, we will briefly examine the cocking, acceleration, and deceleration stages. To truly understand overhand throwing, one must look at the motions in their most basic forms. The overhand throwing motion for a baseball/softball is similar to throwing a football but not the exact same (biggest differences seen in the elbow joint). To understand specifically how these problems develop, one must have a general idea of the dynamics of an overhand throw. If the arm is not at the 90 degree angle (as shown in the examples to the right), a player isĥ) can hyper-extend shoulder muscles/rotator cuff The overwhelming message that every speaker made clear when it comes to mechanics for overhand throwing: the elbow must be at shoulder height or higher and the arm must be approximately at a 90 degree angle to prevent any risk of an arm injury. Axe, Kevin Wilk, and many, many other top physicians in their respective fields. We spent the weekend speaking with professionals like Dr. We were the only "training aid" company invited to attend which obviously spoke volumes about the ThrowMAX and it's potential to cure throwing mechanics people face everyday. In January, we attended the American Sports Medicine Institute Injuries Course held in Phoenix, AZ.