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) Building the necessary scapula strength that allows the shoulder to decelerate properly when throwing at high velocities
3) Developing strength through the hips and legs that helps properly redistribute stress when throwing
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, which only gets guys closer and closer to injury
Instead we should look to maximizing the rest of the body, especially the legs and hips, to not only generate better velocity, but have greater durability
-Fenske
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