Ishigaki Tomonobu, Akuzawa Hiroshi, Sekine Chie, Yokota Hirotake, Hirabayashi Ryo, Edama Mutsuaki
Athlete Support Research Center, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan; Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan; Institute of Life Innovation Research Center, Toyo University, Tokyo, Japan.
Athlete Support Research Center, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan; Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan.
J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2024 Apr;33(4):765-772. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2023.09.017. Epub 2023 Oct 20.
In baseball players with elbow injuries, towel drills are clinically used before initiating active throwing exercises to gradually increase stress across the elbow. However, elbow valgus torque during towel drills remains unknown. Moreover, towel drills and active ball throws might have different relationships between biomechanical metrics, such as elbow stress, arm slot, and arm speed. Therefore, the aims of this study were 1) to demonstrate the difference in elbow valgus stress between towel drills and active ball throws and 2) to evaluate the correlation between elbow valgus torque and other biomechanical metrics including arm slot and arm speed in towel drills and active ball throws.
Seventeen healthy college baseball players performed three towel drills using a face towel, short foam tube, and long foam tube, followed by full-effort throwing on flat ground. Each participant completed five consecutive trials of each task, and the elbow valgus torque, arm slot, and arm speed were measured using wearable sensors. One-way repeated analysis of variance and post-hoc tests were used to determine the differences in biomechanical metrics among the tasks. Furthermore, the correlation between the elbow valgus torque and other metrics was evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficients.
Elbow valgus torque was lower in towel drills compared to that of active ball throws; however, the stress during towel drills using a face towel reached almost 80% of the maximum effort of active ball throws. There was no relationship between elbow valgus stress and arm slot in either the towel or active ball throw tasks. However, a higher arm speed was associated with greater elbow valgus torque in towel drills, whereas no relationship between elbow stress and arm speed was found in active ball throws.
Precaution must be taken in athletes following a progressive throwing program because elbow valgus stress reaches almost 80% of the full-effort throw, even when using a face towel in a towel drill. Hence, the subjective intensity must be controlled even in towel drills to gradually increase the medial elbow stress. Moreover, the mechanisms underlying changes in elbow stress may differ between towel drills and active ball throws. Future investigations on the difference between towel drills and active ball throws may help understand the underlying mechanism of alterations in elbow valgus torque during the throwing movement.
在患有肘部损伤的棒球运动员中，临床会在开始进行主动投掷练习前使用毛巾训练，以逐渐增加肘部的压力。然而，毛巾训练期间的肘外翻扭矩尚不清楚。此外，毛巾训练和主动投球在生物力学指标（如肘部压力、手臂位置和手臂速度）之间可能存在不同的关系。因此，本研究的目的是：1）证明毛巾训练和主动投球之间肘外翻应力的差异；2）评估毛巾训练和主动投球中肘外翻扭矩与其他生物力学指标（包括手臂位置和手臂速度）之间的相关性。
17名健康的大学棒球运动员使用面巾、短泡沫管和长泡沫管进行了三项毛巾训练，随后在平地上全力投掷。每位参与者对每项任务连续完成五次试验，并使用可穿戴传感器测量肘外翻扭矩、手臂位置和手臂速度。采用单向重复方差分析和事后检验来确定各项任务之间生物力学指标的差异。此外，使用Pearson相关系数评估肘外翻扭矩与其他指标之间的相关性。
与主动投球相比，毛巾训练中的肘外翻扭矩较低；然而，使用面巾进行毛巾训练时的压力几乎达到主动投球最大力度的80%。在毛巾训练或主动投球任务中，肘外翻应力与手臂位置之间均无关联。然而，在毛巾训练中，较高的手臂速度与更大的肘外翻扭矩相关，而在主动投球中未发现肘部压力与手臂速度之间的关系。
在进行渐进式投掷计划的运动员中必须采取预防措施，因为即使在毛巾训练中使用面巾，肘外翻应力也几乎达到全力投掷的80%。因此，即使在毛巾训练中也必须控制主观强度，以逐渐增加内侧肘部压力。此外，毛巾训练和主动投球中肘部压力变化的潜在机制可能不同。未来对毛巾训练和主动投球之间差异的研究可能有助于理解投掷运动中肘外翻扭矩变化的潜在机制。
