Publications by authors named "Kengo Onuma"
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates if baseball pitchers have enough elbow varus strength to relieve stress on the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) during pitching, focusing on how valgus loads affect the medial elbow compartment.
- Researchers measured the peak elbow varus moment during different pitch types (fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup) in 14 professional and 8 collegiate pitchers using an electromagnetic tracking device and an isokinetic dynamometer.
- Results showed that many pitchers did not possess sufficient varus strength to fully unload the UCL during certain pitch types, indicating that while muscular support can help, valgus loading on the UCL appears to be an inherent challenge in baseball pitching.
In baseball pitching, resultant elbow varus torque reaches the peak value of 50-120 N m, exceeding the joint failure limit that risks damage to the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). In-vivo methodology is lacking to assess whether pitchers have sufficient muscular strength to shield UCL and how strongly the elbow musculature must contract to minimize valgus loading on UCL. This study introduces a method to assess relative percentages of muscular varus strength required to unload the UCL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkeletal muscle works as a dynamic joint stabilizer, assisting the underlying ligaments in restricting joint angulation by actively resisting external loads. Despite its clinical importance, little is known about the muscle strength required to produce torque to help ligaments restrict joint angulation within the physiological range permitted by the joint structure. In this study, we introduce a method for measuring the strength of the elbow musculature in restraining valgus angulation and present the values obtained in 20 healthy young men.
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