Professional Baseball Player Type and Geographic Region of Origin Impacts Shoulder External and Internal Rotation Strength.
Lori A Michener, Adam J Barrack, Bernard Y Liebeskind and 4 others
PMID 34386290WHAT IT FOUND
Position players had significantly stronger shoulder rotation than pitchers.
Latin American players were stronger than North Americans. These differences suggest pitchers may have relative weaknesses in shoulder strength compared to other professional players.
Key findings
01Position players demonstrated greater external and internal rotation strength than pitchers on both the throwing and non-throwing arms.
02Latin American athletes exhibited stronger shoulder external and internal rotation than North American athletes, regardless of player type.
03North American pitchers were weaker in external and internal rotation on the throwing arm compared to Latin American pitchers.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study did not collect data on the players' training history, access to facilities, or nutritional practices, which could explain the strength differences. All position players were grouped together, masking potential differences between specific positions like shortstop and catcher. Strength was normalized to body weight, but pitchers were heavier than position players, which may influence the interpretation of relative strength. The cross-sectional design cannot determine if the strength differences cause injury risk or if players self-select into positions based on existing strength.
Declared interests
The study was funded by a Major League Baseball Research Grant.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the strength differences between pitchers and position players are solely due to training deficits or injury risk. The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot prove that weaker shoulders caused the player to become a pitcher or that this weakness directly leads to injury. It only describes the current state of these athletes.