Archive for June 7th, 2009

Pitchers are weird people, mostly because of the physical act of throwing.  The motion is so violent and powerful that it throws a pitcher’s body out of whack and causes major asymmetries in strength, size, flexibility and range of motion, bone structure, etc.  

One major adaptation of the pitcher is in shoulder range of motion (ROM). Pitchers have incredible, otherworldly external rotation.  The average person couldn’t dream of contorting his arm in such a way.

My buddy Andrew Germuth showing off his external rotation

 And what price do we pitchers pay for enjoying such lavish external rotation?  You guessed it! A tight rotator cuff and a subsequent deficiency of internal rotation. (there is always a catch!)

So what?  Does it matter if a pitcher has poor shoulder range of motion internally? 

The answer to this question is unequivocally “yes.” Any trainer or physical therapist will tell you that a lack of ROM in any joint is pathological and indicative of underlying problems.  Normal ROM should exist in all one’s joints, and if not, there is a probably a problem as to why.  In many populations these imbalances in flexibility might not impair day-to-day functioning, but for athletes and especially pitchers, inflexibility poses major problems.

Dr. Craig Morgan and colleagues are researching the link between elbow pain (up to and including full blown ligament tears requiring Tommy John surgery) and internal rotation.  What he is finding (as he found in me) is that a huge amount of pitchers coming to him have significant GIRD (glenohumeral internal rotation deficiency), and once that GIRD is reduced to an amount within 20 degrees of the internal rotation of the non-throwing shoulder, the pitchers very often return to throwing without pain.  Internal rotation deficits are caused by posterior shoulder capsule tightness, which can be alleviated using the sleeper stretch.  Restore your internal rotation ROM and you will be throwing healthier and harder. Read the rest of this entry »