Trunk axial rotation in baseball pitching and batting

The purpose of this study was to quantify trunk axial rotation and angular acceleration in pitching and batting of elite baseball players. Healthy professional baseball pitchers (n = 40) and batters (n = 40) were studied. Reflective markers attached to each athlete were tracked at 240 Hz with an eig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sports biomechanics 2013-11, Vol.12 (4), p.324-333
Main Authors: Fleisig, Glenn S., Hsu, Wellington K., Fortenbaugh, Dave, Cordover, Andrew, Press, Joel M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
abdominal muscle strain
Acceleration
Athletes
Baseball - physiology
Biomechanical Phenomena
Biomechanics
hitting
Humans
kinematics
lumbar disk degeneration
Professional baseball
Rotation
Spine
Torso - physiology
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Summary:The purpose of this study was to quantify trunk axial rotation and angular acceleration in pitching and batting of elite baseball players. Healthy professional baseball pitchers (n = 40) and batters (n = 40) were studied. Reflective markers attached to each athlete were tracked at 240 Hz with an eight-camera automated digitizing system. Trunk axial rotation was computed as the angle between the pelvis and the upper trunk in the transverse plane. Trunk angular acceleration was the second derivative of axial rotation. Maximum trunk axial rotation (55 ± 6°) and angular acceleration (11,600 ± 3,100 °/s 2 ) in pitching occurred before ball release, approximately at the instant the front foot landed. Maximum trunk axial rotation (46 ± 9°) and angular acceleration (7,200 ± 2,800 °/s 2 ) in batting occurred in the follow-through after ball contact. Thus, the most demanding instant for the trunk and spine was near front foot contact for pitching and after ball contact for batting.
ISSN:1476-3141
1752-6116
DOI:10.1080/14763141.2013.838693