Side-to-side difference in dynamic unilateral balance ability and pitching performance in Japanese collegiate baseball pitchers.

All participants were pain-free collegiate pitchers with no previous extremity surgery or injury, so the results may not apply to injured pitchers in rehabilitation. Only 25 collegiate pitchers were tested, and the authors noted the study did not include other age groups or competitive levels. The researchers did not measure lower-extremity flexibility or strength, even though the balance test score reflects those factors, so balance alone cannot explain the scores. The study did not measure throwing biomechanics, so it cannot show how balance fits into the kinetic chain or throwing skill. This was a one-time measurement after league games, not a training or rehabilitation intervention, so it cannot show whether balance training changes pitching performance.

The authors declared no financial or personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work.

Do not read the anteromedial pivot-leg difference as evidence that single-leg balance drives pitching performance. The study found no significant correlations between balance scores and ball velocity or accuracy, and it did not test whether balance training improves performance.