The causation of all elbow injuries in baseball:
Is throwing a baseball
No one else on planet earth is tearing their UCLs other than baseball players
The reason is that the extreme external rotation of the shoulder necessary to throw a baseball at high velocities, induces valgus stress on the elbow
Unfortunately, this is simply part of the sport
The question becomes though, how can an athlete mitigate the stress that’s occurring on the field, in their training off the field?
Several ways:
1) Executing an intelligent arm care program
2) Throwing programs that are individualized and periodized, not copy paste one size fits all
3) Developing strength through the hips and upper back that helps properly redistribute stress, and decelerate the shoulder when throwing at high velocities
Too many times in the modern baseball world we ask even more and more out of the shoulder with endless year round throwing and hyper aggressive weighted ball programs.
The problem is that only brings guys closer and closer to injury
Instead, with smarter throwing programs that aren’t just copy/paste crash and burns for chasing social media views; and development of the REST of the body outside the shoulder, the baseball injury epidemic can finally start to abate
-Fenske
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