Elbow range of motion in professional baseball pitchers.

Background: Physicians involved with the care of baseball players have noted elbow range of motion changes in pitchers. Objective data regarding the extent of these changes have rarely been documented.

Hypothesis: Dominant and nondominant elbow range of motion differences are common in baseball pitchers, and these differences are related to player age, amount and length of time professionally pitched, and history of surgical procedures on the dominant extremity.