Cargando…

Defining the Long-Toss: A Professional Baseball Epidemiological Study

BACKGROUND: Despite widespread use of long-toss throwing in baseball as a component of arm conditioning, interval throwing programs, and rehabilitation, long-toss distance and throwing mechanics remain controversial. PURPOSE: To ascertain the perceived definition of long-toss throwing through a surv...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Stone, Austin V., Mannava, Sandeep, Patel, Anita, Marquez-Lara, Alejandro, Freehill, Michael T.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: SAGE Publications 2017
Materias:
8
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5315237/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28255565
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2325967116686773
_version_ 1782508655340421120
author Stone, Austin V.
Mannava, Sandeep
Patel, Anita
Marquez-Lara, Alejandro
Freehill, Michael T.
author_facet Stone, Austin V.
Mannava, Sandeep
Patel, Anita
Marquez-Lara, Alejandro
Freehill, Michael T.
author_sort Stone, Austin V.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Despite widespread use of long-toss throwing in baseball as a component of arm conditioning, interval throwing programs, and rehabilitation, long-toss distance and throwing mechanics remain controversial. PURPOSE: To ascertain the perceived definition of long-toss throwing through a survey of professional pitchers, pitching coaches (PCs), and certified athletic trainers (ATCs) associated with Major League Baseball. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study. METHODS: Pitchers, PCs, and ATCs associated with 5 Major League Baseball organizations completed an anonymous survey that collected demographic data, personal use of long-toss throwing, and their perception of the distance and throwing mechanics that comprised long-toss. RESULTS: A total of 321 surveys were completed by 271 pitchers, 19 PCs, and 31 ATCs. For all respondents, the mean distance considered as long-toss was 175 ft (95% CI, 170-181 ft). Respondents categorized the throwing mechanics of long-toss, with 36% reporting throwing “on a line” and 70% reporting long-toss as “not on a line.” Of those throwing “on a line,” 28% reported using crow-hop footwork while 60% used crow-hop footwork when throwing “not on a line.” Interpretation of long-toss distance significantly varied by position: pitchers, 177 ft (95% CI, 171-183 ft); PCs, 177 ft (95% CI, 155-200 ft); and ATCs, 157 ft (95% CI, 144-169 ft) (P = .048). When asked when long-toss throwing is used, pitchers reported using it more frequently in preseason (P = .007), during the season (P = .015), and in the off-season (P = .002) compared with that by ATCs. Functional goals for long-toss throwing demonstrated that pitchers and PCs use long-toss for shoulder stretching more frequently than ATCs (P < .001 and P = .026, respectively). ATCs used long-toss more than pitchers for interval throwing programs (P < .001). CONCLUSION: The definition varies for long-toss throwing distance and throwing mechanics. Pitchers and PCs believe that long-toss comprised longer distances than ATCs and employed long-toss differently for strength conditioning, training, stretching, and rehabilitation. This discrepancy highlights a potential lost opportunity for protecting the shoulder. While long-toss is an important tool, a more scientific definition is warranted to better elucidate its role in enhancing throwing performance and rehabilitation.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-5315237
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2017
publisher SAGE Publications
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-53152372017-03-02 Defining the Long-Toss: A Professional Baseball Epidemiological Study Stone, Austin V. Mannava, Sandeep Patel, Anita Marquez-Lara, Alejandro Freehill, Michael T. Orthop J Sports Med 8 BACKGROUND: Despite widespread use of long-toss throwing in baseball as a component of arm conditioning, interval throwing programs, and rehabilitation, long-toss distance and throwing mechanics remain controversial. PURPOSE: To ascertain the perceived definition of long-toss throwing through a survey of professional pitchers, pitching coaches (PCs), and certified athletic trainers (ATCs) associated with Major League Baseball. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study. METHODS: Pitchers, PCs, and ATCs associated with 5 Major League Baseball organizations completed an anonymous survey that collected demographic data, personal use of long-toss throwing, and their perception of the distance and throwing mechanics that comprised long-toss. RESULTS: A total of 321 surveys were completed by 271 pitchers, 19 PCs, and 31 ATCs. For all respondents, the mean distance considered as long-toss was 175 ft (95% CI, 170-181 ft). Respondents categorized the throwing mechanics of long-toss, with 36% reporting throwing “on a line” and 70% reporting long-toss as “not on a line.” Of those throwing “on a line,” 28% reported using crow-hop footwork while 60% used crow-hop footwork when throwing “not on a line.” Interpretation of long-toss distance significantly varied by position: pitchers, 177 ft (95% CI, 171-183 ft); PCs, 177 ft (95% CI, 155-200 ft); and ATCs, 157 ft (95% CI, 144-169 ft) (P = .048). When asked when long-toss throwing is used, pitchers reported using it more frequently in preseason (P = .007), during the season (P = .015), and in the off-season (P = .002) compared with that by ATCs. Functional goals for long-toss throwing demonstrated that pitchers and PCs use long-toss for shoulder stretching more frequently than ATCs (P < .001 and P = .026, respectively). ATCs used long-toss more than pitchers for interval throwing programs (P < .001). CONCLUSION: The definition varies for long-toss throwing distance and throwing mechanics. Pitchers and PCs believe that long-toss comprised longer distances than ATCs and employed long-toss differently for strength conditioning, training, stretching, and rehabilitation. This discrepancy highlights a potential lost opportunity for protecting the shoulder. While long-toss is an important tool, a more scientific definition is warranted to better elucidate its role in enhancing throwing performance and rehabilitation. SAGE Publications 2017-02-10 /pmc/articles/PMC5315237/ /pubmed/28255565 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2325967116686773 Text en © The Author(s) 2017 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work as published without adaptation or alteration, without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
spellingShingle 8
Stone, Austin V.
Mannava, Sandeep
Patel, Anita
Marquez-Lara, Alejandro
Freehill, Michael T.
Defining the Long-Toss: A Professional Baseball Epidemiological Study
title Defining the Long-Toss: A Professional Baseball Epidemiological Study
title_full Defining the Long-Toss: A Professional Baseball Epidemiological Study
title_fullStr Defining the Long-Toss: A Professional Baseball Epidemiological Study
title_full_unstemmed Defining the Long-Toss: A Professional Baseball Epidemiological Study
title_short Defining the Long-Toss: A Professional Baseball Epidemiological Study
title_sort defining the long-toss: a professional baseball epidemiological study
topic 8
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5315237/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28255565
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2325967116686773
work_keys_str_mv AT stoneaustinv definingthelongtossaprofessionalbaseballepidemiologicalstudy
AT mannavasandeep definingthelongtossaprofessionalbaseballepidemiologicalstudy
AT patelanita definingthelongtossaprofessionalbaseballepidemiologicalstudy
AT marquezlaraalejandro definingthelongtossaprofessionalbaseballepidemiologicalstudy
AT freehillmichaelt definingthelongtossaprofessionalbaseballepidemiologicalstudy