In-Season Shoulder Conditioning:
Helping Preventing Arm Injury
April 13, 2010
(click here for a 2-page .pdf of this newsletter)

There are 2 moments when the arm undergoes enormous stress during pitching:

1) At Maximum External Rotation:

where elbow stress is equal to hanging a 40-lb. weight off of your wrist.

2) After Ball Release:

where this 2001 study showed that the force pulling your shoulder out of socket is equal to your body weight.

As a result, all of the rotator cuff muscles must contract simultaneously to prevent injury:

Medicine Ball Training: Helping Prevent Arm Injury In-Season

While JUMPING ROPE is my #1 recommendation for injury prevention AND in-season conditioning, this 2006 study:

found significant increases in velocity with med ball exercises, 2 of which are here (email me if you'd like the entire study):

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Dr. Arnold!