Weight Implements to Improve Throwing Speed and Shoulder Mobility in Baseball Pitchers

NCT04286048 | Withdrawn

• 1 other identifier: BEIS
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: N/A
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Increasing the speed of pitches is key in baseball performance. The interventions by means of the implement of weights are used to improve the strength and to strengthen the muscles of the shoulder. The objective of the study is to assess the effectiveness of an exercise protocol with weight implements in increasing the speed of throws and shoulder mobility in pitchers aged 18 to 40 years. Randomized pilot study. 12 pitchers will be randomized to the study groups: experimental (intervention with launches with weight implement) and control (without any intervention). The intervention will last 4 weeks, with 2 weekly sessions of 15 minutes each. The study variables will be the range of shoulder movement (goniometry) and the speed of the throws (speed radar). A descriptive statistical analysis will be performed calculating median and interquartile range. With the Shapiro-Wills test, the sample distribution will be calculated. If there is homogeneity, with the t-student test the changes will be calculated after the intervention in both groups. The intra and intersubject effect will be calculated with the ANOVA of repeated measures. The effect size will be obtained with Cohen's mean difference formula. It is expected to see improvement in the speed of the throws and in the range of shoulder movement.

Conditions

Baseball Pitcher

Keywords

Baseball; Pitchers; Weight implements; Speed of pitches; Range of motion

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change from baseline internal shoulder rotation after treatment and at month

  A goniometer will be used to measure the range of shoulder joint mobility. The athlete will be placed supine with the shoulder in 90º of abduction and the elbow flexed to 90º. The patient will be asked to do an internal shoulder rotation. The goniometer axis will be placed on the olecranon, while the mobile arm aligned along the cube to the ulnar process and the fixed arm will be perpendicular to the ground. The unit of measure is the degrees; where to greater graduation, greater mobility. The normative range of shoulder mobility is 0º-70º in internal rotation.

  Screening visit, within the first seven days after treatment and after one month follow-up visit

• Change from baseline external shoulder rotation after treatment and at month

  A goniometer will be used to measure the range of shoulder joint mobility. The athlete will be placed supine with the shoulder in 90º of abduction and the elbow flexed to 90º. The patient will be asked to do an external shoulder rotation. The goniometer axis will be placed on the olecranon, while the mobile arm aligned along the cube to the ulnar process and the fixed arm will be perpendicular to the ground. The unit of measure is the degrees; where to greater graduation, greater mobility. The normative range of shoulder mobility is 0º-90º in external rotation.

  Screening visit, within the first seven days after treatment and after one month follow-up visit

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Change from baseline throwing speed after treatment and at month

  Screening visit, within the first seven days after treatment and after one month follow-up visit

Study Arms (2)

Experimental group

EXPERIMENTAL

Each session will last 15 minutes, taking place for 2 days a week, over a period of 4 weeks. The intervention will take place at the beginning of the training session. Prior to training, each pitcher will perform his normal warm-up routine, notifying the investigator when he feels ready to perform the training. The intervention through weight implements will consist in the application of the protocol described by Fleising et al. The objective of the application of the technique is to produce an increase in the speed of the throws.

Other: Weight implement

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

Athletes included in the control group will conduct their training and activities on a daily basis

Interventions

Weight implement OTHER

The technique will be done by making the same movement of the launch, but with the weight implement. The physiotherapist will be next to the pitcher, noting that there is no pain or discomfort when launching. The session will be held for 15min with 30 seconds of rest between each launch, until reaching 15 pitches. The sessions will be directed by a physiotherapist, in charge of supervising that the pitcher is correctly making the requested movement.

Experimental group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 40 Years
• Sex: male
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Male baseball pitchers
• With an age range of 18 to 40 years
• With more than three years of sports practice as a pitcher
• That currently practice in regional or professional competitions

You may not qualify if:

• Subjects who have undergone some surgery on the dominance arm with which they launch in the last 12 months
• Who are receiving a specific shoulder mobility intervention
• Have not signed the informed consent document

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Investigación en Hemofilia y Fisioterapia: lead

Study Sites (1)

Universidad Europea de Madrid

Madrid, Comunity of Madrid, 28670, Spain

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: NETWORK
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 25, 2020
• First Posted: February 26, 2020
• Study Start: March 2, 2020
• Primary Completion: May 30, 2020
• Study Completion: June 10, 2020
• Last Updated: September 5, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-09

Locations

ES (1)