In pitching injuries, the elbow is connected to the hip bone
Channel: UF Health
Date: 30/04/2014

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — New University of Florida research suggests that a pitcher's elbow injury could be all in the hips.
Kevin W. Farmer, M.D., an assistant professor in the UF department of orthopaedics and rehabilitation, presented research at the March meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons that shows a limited range of motion in a pitcher's hips could risk injury to his elbow.
When a pitcher throws, he begins by shifting weight on his feet. He then lifts one knee — the leg opposite his throwing arm — so his thigh is parallel with the ground. Simultaneously, he brings the ball behind his shoulder and begins the pitch, bringing his throwing hand over his shoulder at the same time his raised knee is coming down. That step forward helps power the pitch.
When the pitcher performs a pitch, much of the stress is focused on a single ligament: the ulnar collateral ligament. About 1,000 pounds of pressure per square inch can be placed upon that ligament, Farmer said. The mechanics of the throw affects what Farmer and the researchers he worked with call the "elbow valgus torque."


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