Strenth training and internal rotation

[sluggers]

I wanted to share this with everyone...

The study indicates that a predictor of shoulder/arm injury in baseball pitchers is the imbalance of muscle strength in the internal rotation muscles and those used for external rotation. As some of you may know, the underhand pitching motion and the overhand pitching motion are very similar with respect to the rotation of the forearm. Thus, the study should be applicable to softball pitchers.

Link to article regarding study


The study suggests that injuries to pitchers can be prevented by increasing the strength of the supraspinatus muscle. This video describes a basic exercise to increase the strength of the supraspinatus muscles: Viddler.com - Full Can vs. Empty Can Exercise - Uploaded by bman74

This makes a lot of sense. Many sports injuries are caused by over-development of a set of muscles without increasing the strength of the counter-balancing muscles. E.g., knee pain can be caused in runners or bicyclists due to an imbalance in the leg muscles.

It might be sensible for pitchers to include strength exercises targeting the supraspinatus muscles.

 

[Sponge]

Hey Ray,

Great info...thanks. Is this exercise always done with no weight at all or does it progress into adding a pound or two when doing this?

Thanks