Rehabilitation: Part III. Throwing Athletes

Abstract

Overhead athletes are the players with unique and complicated movements. Thus, the repetitive motions involved with the throwing of the ball cause injuries in the shoulder joints and expose the adjacent tissues to extreme conditions. Also, overhead arm motions create excessive stress during the last phase of the pitching motion. During this time, the angular velocity (rotation angle per second) of the ball during the pitch almost reaches 7,000°/s (approximately 19.5 rotation in 1 s) and the act of rotation exerts a force equivalent to the body mass of the pitcher to the anterior shoulder joint and 1.5 times the body mass in stress. These issues occur in other sports such as football, softball, and tennis.