Item Details

title

ULNAR COLLATERAL LIGAMENT INJURY PREVENTION AND REHABILITATION IN BASEBALL PITCHERS

author

Geiger, Jessica Kristin

abstract

Baseball continues to maintain high injury rates. While players experience a multitude of injuries, ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and subsequent elbow injuries are some of the most troublesome. During high-speed overhand throwing and pitching, baseball pitchers place extreme forces on their medial elbow. This leads pitchers to frequently sustain UCL injuries, which can cause instability and pain in the medial elbow. UCL injuries are rising in pitchers, yet little research has examined pre-injury kinematics to identify risk factors, as well as targeted strength training protocols to minimize injury risk. The stress placed on the medial elbow can be increased by fatigue and improper pitching mechanics, ultimately predisposing the upper extremities to injury. The purpose of the first aim was to investigate biomechanics common to pitchers who later tear their UCL compared to pitchers who remain healthy, utilizing statistical parametric models and discrete metric comparisons. The findings of this study highlight biomechanical factors that may predispose pitchers to UCL injury, informing potential injury prevention strategies in pitching mechanics. The purpose of the second aim was to investigate changes in muscle size and ulnohumeral joint space gapping before and after baseball pitchers complete a 10-week forearm strengthening protocol. The results showed increased muscle cross sectional area and decreased ulnohumeral joint space gapping in athletes who completed the strengthening protocol and no changes in athletes who did not complete the protocol. The results highlight how strengthening the primary forearm flexor muscles can increase stability of the medial elbow and potentially mitigate injury risk to the UCL.

subject

baseball

biomechanics

injury prevention

motion analysis

strength training

ulnar collateral ligament

contributor

Nicholson, Kristen F (advisor)

Pexa, Brett S (committee member)

Urban, Jillian E (committee member)

date

2025-06-24T08:36:21Z (accessioned)

2025 (issued)

degree

Biomedical Engineering (discipline)

embargo

2030-05-17 (terms)

2030-05-17 (liftdate)

identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/110987 (uri)

language

en (iso)

publisher

Wake Forest University

type

Thesis