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Prevention of injury to the Ulnar Collateral Ligament

Classification

A very common injury among athletes who perform an overhead throwing motion is known as “dead arm”, and it is the result of a damaged ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in the elbow. Understanding the prevention for this injury is crucial for the longevity of a pitchers career.

Prevention

Preventing overuse and not pitching while arm is fatigued is critical . explains that implementing pitch counts on young pitchers is one way to prevent over-use. For example, Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals attained UCL reconstruction surgery during the 2012 MLB season, and he was limited to throwing only 160 innings for the season. An effective way to reduce stress on the ulnar collateral ligament of a young pitcher’s arm is to implement using less strenuous pitches, such as a change-up as opposed to a curveball

Biomechanics

The throwing motion of a pitch on average expends 64 Nm of force on the elbow, furthermore, the combination of large loads initiated in the late cocking phase with the rapid elbow extension generated in acceleration produces compression overload laterally, shear stress in the posterior compartment, and tensile overload medially. Recent biomechanical analysis has found that coupling of shoulder internal rotation and forearm pronation forms the physiological basis of varus acceleration to minimize valgus elbow load Using these proper mechanics to lighten the torque and force of the elbow can dramatically prevent UCL injuries from occurring in pitchers.