Lower Extremity Muscle Activation During Baseball Pitching.

NewsBot · Mar 20, 2010

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Lower Extremity Muscle Activation During Baseball Pitching.
Campbell BM, Stodden DF, Nixon MK.
J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Mar 17. [Epub ahead of print]

The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle activation levels of select lower extremity muscles during the pitching motion. Bilateral surface electromyography data on 5 lower extremity muscles (biceps femoris, rectus femoris, gluteus maximus, vastus medialis, and gastrocnemius) were collected on 11 highly skilled baseball pitchers and compared with individual maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) data. The pitching motion was divided into 4 distinct phases: phase 1, initiation of pitching motion to maximum stride leg knee height; phase 2, maximum stride leg knee height to stride foot contact (SFC); phase 3, SFC to ball release; and phase 4, ball release to 0.5 seconds after ball release (follow-through). Results indicated that trail leg musculature elicited moderate to high activity levels during phases 2 and 3 (38-172% of MVIC). Muscle activity levels of the stride leg were moderate to high during phases 2-4 (23-170% of MVIC). These data indicate a high demand for lower extremity strength and endurance. Specifically, coaches should incorporate unilateral and bilateral lower extremity exercises for strength improvement or maintenance and to facilitate dynamic stabilization of the lower extremities during the pitching motion.
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NewsBot · May 4, 2023

An Exploratory Investigation Evaluating the Impact of Fatigue-Induced Stride Length Compensations on Ankle Biomechanics among Skilled Baseball Pitchers
Ryan L Crotin, Dan K Ramsey
Life (Basel). 2023 Apr 11;13(4):986

Altered propulsive and bracing ground reaction forces from lower-body fatigue significantly impact stride length to increase weakness in dynamic elbow stabilizers and risk of medial elbow injury in baseball pitchers. This work investigated altered stride length on three-dimensional ankle joint dynamics to illustrate fatigue-induced changes in ankle motion that can also be impacted by coaching errors. Nineteen pitchers (15 collegiate and 4 high school) were randomized in a crossover design study that encouraged fatigue by throwing two simulated 80-pitch games at ±25% of their desired stride length. An integrated motion-capture system with two force plates and radar gun tracked each throw. Retrospective analysis using pairwise comparisons, including effect size calculations, were undertaken to identify differences in ankle dynamics between stride length conditions for both the drive and stride leg. Longer strides were found to be more effective in drive ankle propulsion and stride-bracing mechanics. Conversely, shorter strides delayed bracing dynamics by demonstrating continued drive ankle plantar flexion moments after stride-foot contact to extend pitchers' time in propulsion (p < 0.001, d > 0.8). Additionally, heightened braking effects were seen during the acceleration phase of throwing with greater stride knee extension power when pitching with shorter strides (p < 0.001, d > 0.8). The knowledge gained from this work offers new insight into compensatory stride length adaptation that impacts systemic and throwing arm-specific fatigue to maintain ball velocity, as bilateral ankle joint dynamics can be significantly affected in response to cumulative workload.
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NewsBot · Oct 24, 2023

Lower extremity kinematic and kinetic factors associated with bat speed at ball contact during the baseball swing
Karl F Orishimo et al
Sports Biomech. 2023 Oct 18:1-12

The purpose of this study was to determine which biomechanical variables measured during the baseball swing are associated with linear bat speed at ball contact (bat speed). Twenty collegiate baseball players hit a baseball from a tee into a net. Kinematics were recorded with a motion capture system sampling at 500 Hz and kinetics were measured by force plates under each foot sampling at 1000 Hz. Associations between bat speed, individual joint and segment kinematics, joint moments and ground reaction forces (GRF) were assessed using Pearson correlations and stepwise linear regression. Average bat speed was 30 ± 2 m/s. Lead foot peak vertical (159 ± 29% BW, r = 0.622, P = 0.001), posterior (-57 ± 12% BW, r = -0.574, P = 0.008) and resultant (170 ± 30% BW, r = 0.662, P = 0.001) GRF were all correlated with bat speed. No combination of factors strengthened the relationship to bat speed beyond these individual variables. These results illustrate the role of the lead leg in generating and transferring ground reaction forces through the kinetic chain in order to accelerate the bat. Training to improve bat speed should include both general lower extremity strengthening exercises and sport-specific hitting drills to improve lower extremity force production following lead foot contact.
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NewsBot · Nov 27, 2023

Ground reaction forces in baseball pitching: temporal associations with pitch velocity among high-velocity pitchers
Kyle W Wasserberger, Kevin A Giordano
Sports Biomech. 2023 Nov 22:1-15

How baseball pitchers interact with the ground is an important aspect of pitching technique and performance. Previous studies on ground reaction forces in baseball pitching have largely been limited to pitchers at the youth or adolescent level, with only a few studies examining higher velocity pitchers. Additionally, previous studies have limited their analyses to only peak kinetic values, neglecting any temporal importance of when these peak values occur. Therefore, our purpose was to provide normative ground reaction force values and examine the associations between pitch velocity and ground reaction forces in high-velocity pitchers. We retrospectively extracted pitch velocities as well as rear and lead leg ground reaction force data from internal databases for 105 high-velocity pitchers. We analysed the associations between the full ground reaction force time series and pitch velocity using statistical parametric mapping regression. Regression analysis revealed pitch velocity significantly predicted lead leg braking ground reaction force from approximately 27% to 35% of the period between front foot contact and ball release. These data reinforce the importance of effective braking forces for achieving maximal pitch velocities. Additionally, our observed peak ground reaction force values were considerably higher than those previously reported.
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