• Journal of Korean Orthopaedic Sports Medicine
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.62-70
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• 2003

Purpose: We examined the kinematics and kinetics of the shoulder in youth baseball pitchers in light of the mechanisms of development of little league shoulder and humeral retrotorsion. Materials and Methods: The joint kinematics and the net force and torque acting on the humerus were calculated in fourteen youth pitchers throwing in a simulated game. Results: The major force component acting on the humerus was a tensile force of 378$\pm$81 N that peaked just after ball release. The predominant torque on the humerus was an external rotation torque about the long axis of the humerus. This torque reached a peak value of 35.3$\pm$6.7 Nm about 73$\%$through the pitching motion. This torque is approximately 66$\%$ of the torque required to fracture of the adult humerus. Conclusions: The direction of the humeral torque was consistent with the development of increased humeral retrotorsion in the throwing arm. Shear stress arising from the high torque during the late cocking phase likely leads to deformation the relatively weak proximal humeral epiphysis. The external rotation torque applied to the humerus during the pitch also agrees with the proposed mechanism for development little league shoulder, which has been hypothesized to be due to rotational stresses acting on the epiphysis during the throwing motion.