Medial Elbow Joint Laxity in Professional Baseball Pitchers
- 1 May 1998
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in The American Journal of Sports Medicine
- Vol. 26 (3), 420-424
- https://doi.org/10.1177/03635465980260031301
Abstract
Injuries to the ulnar collateral ligament frequently occur in throwing athletes because of large, repetitive valgus stresses to the elbow during the cocking and acceleration phases of throwing. Identification of injury to this ligament is important in evaluating the throwing elbow. The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences in medial elbow laxity exist between the dominant and nondominant extremities in uninjured baseball pitchers. Forty uninjured professional baseball pitchers were tested bilaterally with a Telos GA-IIE stress radiography device. Joint space width between the trochlea of the humerus and the coronoid process of the ulna was measured on anteroposterior radiographs obtained with no stress applied and with a 15-daN valgus stress. Results showed significant differences between the medial joint space opening of the dominant and nondominant elbows with no stress applied. With stress, the dominant elbow opened 1.20 0.97 mm, while the nondominant elbow opened 0.88 0.55 mm. A significantly greater difference in medial joint space opening between the stressed and unstressed elbows was measured in the dominant elbow compared with the nondominant elbow (0.32 0.42 mm). This study identifies increased medial elbow laxity in the dominant arm in uninjured pitchers.This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit:
- Biomechanical Aspects of the Elbow in SportsSports Medicine and Arthroscopy Review, 1995
- Stress radiography of the medial elbow ligaments.Radiology, 1994
- Undersurface Tear of the Ulnar Collateral Ligament in Baseball PlayersThe American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1994
- Preoperative Evaluation of the Ulnar Collateral Ligament by Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Computed Tomography ArthrographyThe American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1994
- Physical Examination of the Thrower's ElbowJournal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 1993
- Dynamics of the Shoulder and Elbow Joints of the Throwing Arm during a Baseball PitchInternational Journal of Sport Biomechanics, 1986
- Sources of Goniometric Error at the ElbowPTJ: Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal, 1985
- Articular and ligamentous contributions to the stability of the elbow jointThe American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1983
- Correctable elbow lesions in professional baseball players: a review of 25 casesThe American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1979
- The Throwing Arm: Elbow joint injuriesThe Journal of Sports Medicine, 1973