Archive for June 29th, 2009
June 29th, 2009 | 
Author: Are you a chronic sufferer of hip external rotator tightness. You are not alone. The good news? There is help.
Pitching is a rotational activity, and the hips and core are the chief couplers of power to the arm. As the stride foot lands the internal rotators of the hips, along with the core, rotate the midsection to face the plate. The hip external rotators, if tight and inflexible, will impede this rotation. (Remember that the hip internal and external rotators are antagonist muscles, which means they oppose each other and that one must stretch while the other contracts.)
So while the internal rotators fire, the external rotators relax and stretch. If the external rotators are tight and do not stretch to their full and normal range of motion, the whole kinetic sequence is impeded. This, in turn, makes the arm bear an extra burden by being in the valgus position longer while trying to catch up and get in the proper position to deliver the pitch. Dr. Morgan and others told me that they believe this leads to elbow problems, including UCL tears.
Ed Bach's arm laying back in the valgus position
