Throwing ball velocity is one of the indicators that determine softball
performance. However, most of the training on throwing only focused on the
major muscles and they neglected the assisted muscles such as hand grip and
trunk rotation muscles that also crucial in improving the throwing
performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the effect of
hand grip strength training, and trunk rotation strength training towards the
throwing ball velocity among female collegiate softball players. 54 female
collegiate softball players were equally divided into three training groups
which are hand grip strength training group (HG), trunk rotation strength
training group (TR), and basic strength training group (CG). All the groups
performed the same basic strength training program with different additional
strength training according to the group`s treatment. Each group trained 3
days per week for 6 weeks. Throwing ball velocity was assessed before
(pretest) and after (posttest) the 6 weeks training program via one-way
between groups analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare the mean gained
score in throwing ball velocity between each group. The result shows that all
group significantly differences in throwing ball velocity (p
INTRODUCTION: Injuries to the medial structures of the elbow due to overhead throwing games are well documented. However, variations of medial epicondyles are not well described, especially in athletes with fused medial epicondyles. In this study, we evaluated variations in the medial epicondyle of baseball players who were aged 15-17 years and had fused epicondyles.
METHODS: In this cross-sectional observational study, 155 skeletally mature baseball players with unilateral medial elbow pain and 310 elbow radiographs were reviewed by two independent reviewers. The medial epicondyles were categorised into three groups: normal, elongated or separated.
RESULTS: Among the 155 patients, 65 (41.9%) had normal epicondyles, 41 (26.5%) had elongated epicondyles and 49 (31.6%) had separated epicondyles. The medial epicondyle was larger on the dominant arm for 125 (80.6%) patients; the mean surface area on the dominant arm was 222.50 ± 45.77 mm2, while that of the non-dominant arm was 189.14 ± 39.56 mm2(p < 0.01). Among the three categories of medial epicondyles, separated epicondyles had the largest surface area, followed by elongated and normal epicondyles.
CONCLUSION: Medial epicondyles in adolescent throwing athletes can be categorised into three different groups according to their shape (normal, elongated and separated). We observed a correlation between the shape and the surface area of the medial epicondyle in adolescent throwing athletes, with separated medial epicondyles having the largest surface area. Further studies and follow-up are needed to determine the prognostic value and clinical significance of these morphological variations.