Medial Elbow Stress in Collegiate Softball Pitchers
Location
Turner Gymnasium
Access Type
Campus Access Only
Presentation Type
Digital poster
Entry Number
61
Start Date
4-16-2026 12:00 PM
End Date
4-16-2026 1:15 PM
School
School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Department
Athletic Training
Abstract
Context: Medial elbow injuries are a concern for overhead throwers, with research primarily focused on baseball pitchers.1 Collegiate softball pitchers often pitch over 30% more innings per season than baseball pitchers and lack pitch count regulations, creating a significant risk for overuse injuries due to high frequency and repetition.6 While elbow torque in softball has been reported to be as high as in baseball, biomechanical research on pitch types is limited to high school athletes, leaving the collegiate population uninvestigated.5,8
Objective: Investigate how the mechanics and force of different softball pitch types affect valgus stress on the medial elbow in collegiate pitchers using a feasible, clinician-friendly wearable sensor.
Design: Repeated measures/cross-sectional study.
Setting: Regulation softball mound (43 feet).
Participants: Five Division III NCAA collegiate softball pitchers (ages 18–24), cleared for participation, and had not sustained a throwing arm injury within six months.
Interventions: Participants performed their normal warm-up before throwing 10 screwballs, 10 curveballs, and 10 change-ups while wearing a Motus Global/Pulse sensor.
Main Outcome Measures: Medial elbow stress, arm speed, and arm slot across three pitch types.
Results: There was no difference in medial elbow stress (F2,6 = 0.133, P = 0.878, η2 = 0.042, 1-β = 0.063), arm slot (F1.023,3.070 = 0.238, P = 0.664, η2 = 0.074, 1-β = 0.065), or arm speed (F2,6 = 4.362, P = 0.068, η2 = 0.593, 1-β = 0.521) depending on pitch type.
Conclusions: Pitch type failed to alter medial elbow stress, arm slot, or arm speed across pitch type, which may explain the relatively limited number of elbow injuries in collegiate softball pitchers compared to collegiate baseball pitchers. For collegiate softball pitchers, the MThrow/Pulse sensor can be used primarily as a training tool to improve biomechanics and performance.
Primary Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Tom Bowman
Primary Faculty Mentor(s) Department
Research Athletic Training
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Medial Elbow Stress in Collegiate Softball Pitchers
Turner Gymnasium
Context: Medial elbow injuries are a concern for overhead throwers, with research primarily focused on baseball pitchers.1 Collegiate softball pitchers often pitch over 30% more innings per season than baseball pitchers and lack pitch count regulations, creating a significant risk for overuse injuries due to high frequency and repetition.6 While elbow torque in softball has been reported to be as high as in baseball, biomechanical research on pitch types is limited to high school athletes, leaving the collegiate population uninvestigated.5,8
Objective: Investigate how the mechanics and force of different softball pitch types affect valgus stress on the medial elbow in collegiate pitchers using a feasible, clinician-friendly wearable sensor.
Design: Repeated measures/cross-sectional study.
Setting: Regulation softball mound (43 feet).
Participants: Five Division III NCAA collegiate softball pitchers (ages 18–24), cleared for participation, and had not sustained a throwing arm injury within six months.
Interventions: Participants performed their normal warm-up before throwing 10 screwballs, 10 curveballs, and 10 change-ups while wearing a Motus Global/Pulse sensor.
Main Outcome Measures: Medial elbow stress, arm speed, and arm slot across three pitch types.
Results: There was no difference in medial elbow stress (F2,6 = 0.133, P = 0.878, η2 = 0.042, 1-β = 0.063), arm slot (F1.023,3.070 = 0.238, P = 0.664, η2 = 0.074, 1-β = 0.065), or arm speed (F2,6 = 4.362, P = 0.068, η2 = 0.593, 1-β = 0.521) depending on pitch type.
Conclusions: Pitch type failed to alter medial elbow stress, arm slot, or arm speed across pitch type, which may explain the relatively limited number of elbow injuries in collegiate softball pitchers compared to collegiate baseball pitchers. For collegiate softball pitchers, the MThrow/Pulse sensor can be used primarily as a training tool to improve biomechanics and performance.