Hodakowski Alexander J, Dowling Brittany, Streepy John T, Olmanson Bjorn, Schmitt Logan, Richard Marc J, Verma Nikhil N, Garrigues Grant E
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Am J Sports Med. 2025 Mar;53(3):543-548. doi: 10.1177/03635465241309316. Epub 2025 Jan 21.
Elbow injuries are prevalent among professional baseball pitchers as nearly 25% undergo ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction. Pitch type, ball velocity, and spin rate have been previously hypothesized to influence elbow varus torque and subsequent risk of injury, but existing research is inconclusive.
To examine elbow varus torque, cumulative torque, and loading rate within professional pitchers throwing fastball, curveball, change-up, and slider pitches, as well as to identify potential influences of ball spin on the elbow.
Descriptive laboratory study.
A total of 31 professional pitchers (mean height, 189.0 ± 5.7 cm; mean weight, 91.7 ± 8.2 kg) were analyzed using motion capture (480 Hz) and TrackMan while throwing a full bullpen of pitches consisting of fastballs, curveballs, change-ups, and sliders. Elbow varus torque, loading rate, cumulative torque, and spin rate were calculated and analyzed using linear regression to establish within-player and mixed-effects models to establish between-player differences in pitch types.
Analyzed by individual pitcher, fastballs exhibited significantly higher mean ball velocity and elbow varus torque (40.4 ± 0.6 m/s; 90.1 ± 3.5 N·m) (all < .001) and peak elbow varus torque compared with curveballs (33.4 ± 0.6 m/s; 87.5 ± 2.7 N·m), change-ups (36.4 ± 0.6 m/s; 81.3 ± 2.4 N·m), and sliders (36.2 ± 0.7 m/s; 87.7 ± 2.7 N·m). Fastball pitches had a significantly greater cumulative elbow varus torque and loading rate compared to all pitch types within a pitcher ( < .001). Despite the lower peak elbow varus torque and loading rate, the change-up pitch had the second highest cumulative torque. Curveballs were found to have the lowest cumulative elbow varus torque. No significant relationship was found between spin rates and elbow varus torque across pitch types.
Fastballs produced the greatest ball velocity, peak elbow varus torque, loading rate, and cumulative torque among the 4 pitch types analyzed in professional pitchers. Although spin rate has become a popular topic in modern pitching strategies and analyses, this study found no significant relationship between spin rate and elbow varus torque across pitch types, suggesting that spin rate alone may not be a reliable predictor of elbow torque or injury.
These findings suggest that pitch type, rather than spin rate, should be considered when assessing risk of elbow injuries in professional pitchers.
肘部损伤在职业棒球投手中很常见，近25%的投手会接受尺侧副韧带重建手术。此前有假说认为投球类型、球速和旋转速率会影响肘部内翻扭矩及后续受伤风险，但现有研究尚无定论。
研究职业投手投出快球、曲线球、变速球和滑球时的肘部内翻扭矩、累积扭矩和负荷率，并确定球的旋转对肘部的潜在影响。
描述性实验室研究。
共有31名职业投手（平均身高189.0±5.7厘米；平均体重91.7±8.2千克）在进行包括快球、曲线球、变速球和滑球的完整牛棚投球练习时，使用动作捕捉（480赫兹）和TrackMan进行分析。计算并分析肘部内翻扭矩、负荷率、累积扭矩和旋转速率，使用线性回归建立球员内模型和混合效应模型，以确定不同投球类型之间的球员差异。
按单个投手分析，与曲线球（33.4±0.6米/秒；87.5±2.7牛·米）、变速球（36.4±0.6米/秒；81.3±2.4牛·米）和滑球（36.2±0.7米/秒；87.7±2.7牛·米）相比，快球的平均球速和肘部内翻扭矩显著更高（40.4±0.6米/秒；90.1±3.5牛·米）（均P<0.001），且肘部内翻扭矩峰值更高。与投手的所有其他投球类型相比，快球的累积肘部内翻扭矩和负荷率显著更大（P<0.001）。尽管变速球的肘部内翻扭矩峰值和负荷率较低，但其累积扭矩排第二。曲线球的累积肘部内翻扭矩最低。在不同投球类型中，未发现旋转速率与肘部内翻扭矩之间存在显著关系。
在所分析的4种投球类型中，快球在职业投手中产生的球速、肘部内翻扭矩峰值、负荷率和累积扭矩最大。尽管旋转速率已成为现代投球策略和分析中的热门话题，但本研究发现不同投球类型的旋转速率与肘部内翻扭矩之间无显著关系，这表明仅旋转速率可能不是肘部扭矩或受伤的可靠预测指标。
这些发现表明，在评估职业投手肘部受伤风险时，应考虑投球类型，而非旋转速率。
