PURPOSE Fifteen elite male handball players were studied to examine the effects of an entire season of play on physical fitness and throwing velocity. METHODS One repetition maximal bench press (1RMBP), jumping explosive strength, power-load relationship of the leg and arm extensor muscles, 5- and 15-m sprint running time, endurance running, and handball throwing velocity (standing and three-...

OBJECTIVE: Throwing is a dynamic and complex task, which requires sequential movement to sufficiently transfer energy from the lower extremity to the upper extremity. Due to the repetitive stress of the overhead throwing motion, sport medicine personnel have developed different methods to assist in alleviating pain an athlete may be experiencing. One method is the use of a posture-cueing compre...

High-speed and accurate throwing is a distinctive human behavior. Achieving fast projectile speeds during throwing requires a combination of elastic energy storage at the shoulder, as well as the transfer of kinetic energy from proximal body segments to distal segments. However, the biomechanical bases of these mechanisms are not completely understood. We used inverse dynamics analyses of kinem...

It is a commonly held perception amongst biomechanists, sports medicine practitioners, baseball coaches and players, that an individual baseball player's style of throwing or pitching influences their performance and susceptibility to injury. With the results of a series of focus groups with baseball managers and pitching coaches in mind, the available scientific literature was reviewed regardi...

For medical or sports applications, human motor control is frequently analyzed. In this study, we focus on dart throwing motion and investigate the human motor skill to achieve precision control and force generation. The joint coordination is related to stability and accuracy of movements for precision control. On the other hand, the joint correlation is related to transfer of forces and moveme...

In team-handball competition, the players utilize various throwing techniques that differ in the lower body movements (with and without run-up or jump). These different lower body movements influence changes in the upper body movements and thus also affect the performance. A comprehensive analysis of 3D-kinematics of team-handball throws that may explain these differences in performance is lack...

Submitted January 10, 2015; revision received February 15, 2015; accepted February 24, 2015. “Little league shoulder” is caused by repeated overhead throwing in athletes between the ages of 11 and 14 years during peak proximal physis growth.1,2 The rotational torque during maximum external rotation when throwing overhead seems to be the primary cause of growth plate failure.1-3 (doi:10.7556/jao...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between ball-throwing velocity during a 3-step running throw and dynamic strength, power, and bar velocity during a concentric-only bench-press exercise in team-handball players. METHODS Fourteen elite senior male team-handball players volunteered to participate. Each volunteer had power and bar velocity measured during a conce...

The relationship between several isokinetic measures and throwing velocity was investigated in intercollegiate baseball pitchers. Ten pitchers were tested for peak torque (PT) at 60 and 240 deg/sec , and torque acceleration energy (TAE), average power (A P) and total work (T W) at 240 deg/sec during shoulder extension and flexion, shoulder internal and external rotation, and elbow flexion and e...

Objectives: To determine if a modified version of the cross body stretch that incorporates scapular stabilization immediately following a bout of pitching will increase passive shoulder range of motion more than the standard cross body stretch in male collegiate baseball players. Background: Overhead athletes, mainly baseball players, often exhibit pathologic gross internal rotation deficit (pG...