Pitching Mechanics Arm Action Problems That Cause Arm Injuries

by Dick Mills on February 04, 2009

Here is a good example of a high school pitcher with pitching mechanics that can easily lead to a serious pitching arm injury...maybe eventually even surgery.  This pitcher has been taught to do this by a pitching instructor. 

This pitcher has several pitching faults with his mechanics.  The first is he takes the ball out of his glove too early. Next, after breaking his hands he begins to lift his elbows up and away from his body. I refer to this type of arm action in my Explosive Pitching video as "elbow lifting." Elbow lifting is the same style of arm action that has caused Mark Prior and Kerry Wood and countless other major league pitchers to be on the disabled list constantly or to have arm surgery.

Don't Lift Throwing Elbow Above The Shoulder

Elbow lifting like this along with poor lower and upper body timing causes the elbow to lift up above the throwing shoulder.  Then upon landing with the elbow above the shoulder the elbow must quickly snap into a position to begin arm acceleration. This is very, very stressful and is the cause of many elbow and shoulder injuries in pitchers. 

A more natural and preferable type of pitching arm action is what I refer to as "arm swinging."  Most healthy pitchers use this style which is a more natural type of throwing action used by infielders, outfielders and catchers.  

Pitchers should take the ball out of the glove after they have started to drive their front hip at the plate while swinging the ball down, back and up similar to how a pendulum works. This is natural.

One of the reasons that some pitchers are being taught to "elbow lift" is because of what has been referred to as "scapula loading" which is emphasizing the pinching of the shoulder blades as a way to improve velocity. This is wrong and will only produce more arm injuries.

If your son is currently lifting his throwing elbow above his shoulder then this could be why he is complaining of elbow or shoulder soreness or pain.  Immediately change his arm action so he takes the ball out of his glove going down, back and up.

And then fix his timing problem and get him to focus on his lower body producing velocity instead of his arm.

But remember this... there are no secrets to pitching improvement. Just sound sports science principles that we apply to pitching that just make common sense. No magic spoken here.

A video analysis is your best insurance policy against poor instruction, guaranteed improvement and added arm insurance against injury.  http://www.pitching.com/video_analysis/

Our Explosive Pitching DVD program teaches parents how to help their sons use their bodies to pitch instead of just their arms. Not only does this improve velocity but reduces the risk of arm injuries.  We also teach them proper conditioning.

One last thing about Momentum Pitching. It is simple to teach and will get most pitchers throwing harder within one session.

See our Off-season discounts on our instructional DVD's:  http://www.pitching.com/products/

"I had spent several hundred dollars on a pitching coach who was leading my son down the path to ruin. He embraced every failed philosophy and technique you've identified - long toss, towel drills and more drills ad nauseum. My son's skills were deteriorating. When I found your website and read your report, I sense intuitively your words had merit and deserved further study."   Mark Smith, Downers Grove,IL