Does your elbow throw every time you pick up a baseball? Check out the image below.
If your elbow looks like this when you throw, your elbow pain is no mistake. Your arm wasn't designed to throw baseballs like this: 👇
Notice how the elbow carries beyond the trunk. This is a huge energy leak.
In our level one courses, we break down our five Key Movement Indicators for pitchers. Of all five, the arm spiral is arguably the most important for throwers. While all throwers have slightly unique arm actions, the best share a couple of key characteristics. One of these is how the arm captures energy around the spine.
In order to maximize force and minimize stress, the arm must unfold around the trunk like an unwinding spiral. This path is critical to understand if you train throwers.
Notice how the arm unfolds and unwinds around the trunk into release. This is arm efficiency.
When the elbow carries forward beyond the trunk, we classify the arm action as a push. We often see this pattern in players experiencing elbow discomfort. When the elbow scoops inside and pushes, a tremendous amount of shear force is placed on the elbow joint. This creates an inefficient pattern that has a negative impact on velocity, command, and health.
Coaching tip: If you're working with a thrower who pushes the baseball, have them play catch behind an L screen. The constraint of the screen forces the arm to unwind away from the body and prevents the elbow from scooping inside. If it does, the ball will hit the screen.
Interested in more? We break down all of the arm action issues we've seen over the years in our courses.
