April 24, 2023
The pitcher looks to the plate and starts to unwind. Their arm reaches back and then flings the ball towards the plate, sailing past the batter and into the catcher’s mitt. A soreness then starts in the pitcher’s arm.
Throwing hard may get strikes, but it can also hurt a pitcher’s arm. A new systematic review found that pitching injuries are related to three key risk factors. The first is pitching speed, where throwing too hard can lead to an arm injury. The two other factors involved throwing with poor mechanics and throwing too much. The fortunate part is that these factors are adjustable, so a pitcher might dial down their speed, develop proper technique, and stay within their pitch count to avoid injury and not strike themselves out.
Learn more in Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic & Related Surgery. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749806323000208
Learn more about injuries in baseball and how to prevent them on the Baseball page.