Workload Comparison of Contemporary Interval Throwing Programs and a Novel Optimized Program for Baseball Pitchers.
Brittany Dowling, Christopher M Brusalis, John T Streepy and 6 others
PMID 38313666WHAT IT FOUND
Three widely used interval throwing programs produced repeated spikes in estimated workload outside the range the study called safe.
A modeled program was designed to reduce these spikes, but it was not tested in injured pitchers.
Key findings
01Programs A, B, and C had 19, 21, and 23 times when the workload ratio spiked above or below the safe range.
02The newly modeled optimized program was built so the workload ratio did not spike once 28 days of throwing was accomplished, and it finished with a chronic workload of 14.2.
03The three existing programs used different throwing distances, quantities, and days. They produced different workload profiles and large early spikes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
This is a modeling study, not a clinical trial. It did not follow injured pitchers, measure actual injury outcomes, or compare programs in patients. The programs were incomplete in several places, so the researchers had to assume throw counts, distance ranges, warm-up throws, optional phases, and effort levels. The workload model was built from healthy college pitchers and one previous elbow torque dataset, so values may not fit pitchers of different size, mechanics, level, or injury history. The early workload ratio calculation assumed no throwing in the previous 28 days, which may be wrong if pitchers did plyometric training or other arm loading before starting the program. The study did not evaluate shoulder forces, pitch types, throwing mechanics quality, setbacks, fatigue, sleep, nutrition, or individualized rehabilitation decisions. The safe workload ratio range and threshold values come from prior research, and the paper notes concerns about the statistical basis of this ratio.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not report funding or conflict of interest declarations.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat the optimized program as proven safer for injured pitchers. It was only modeled from healthy college throwing data and was not tested in injured pitchers.