Date of Award

5-4-2017

Document Type

Thesis

College

Richard W.Riley College of Education

Degree Program

Physical Education, Sport, and Human Performance

Degree Name

Master of Science

Thesis Advisor

Dr. Joni Boyd

Committee Member

Dr. Alice McLaine

Committee Member

Dr. Janet Wojcik

Keywords

NCAA, Baseball pitchers, Modality, Recovery, Proactive motion, College athletes

Abstract

Throwing athletes of all sports have similarities, even if the sport itself is very different. Throwing an object creates a great amount of stress on the body, particularly at the shoulder and the elbow. A baseball pitcher should train and compete in all three planes of movement-sagittal, frontal and transverse. Training for throwing athletes has two main goals: to increase throwing power and to reduce throwing injuries. Analyzing training habits of a throwing athlete includes an understanding of the modalities they perform in order to prevent potential injuries from occurring. Baseball pitchers are extremely susceptible to throwing injuries, and must be proactive in training and treatment modalities to reduce the risk of injuries. It is critical to better understand the perceptions of the various treatment modalities that pitchers believe are effective so athletic trainers, strength coaches, pitching coaches, and pitchers can work together to minimize injuries and maximize potential. The survey in this study aimed to investigate the perceptions of college baseball pitchers on the modalities and treatments available for arm recovery. This self-reported study pointed on a variety of trends that were congruent with the initial expected results, as well as providing insight to new and unexpected results. Results showed that pitchers were devoted to certain modalities that they preferred, regardless of time, over 70% of athletes listed using recovery modalities multiple times per week. The majority of responses reported perceptions of effectiveness for heat and rolling techniques. Additionally, the pitchers believe that dry needling and Graston techniques are most effective, although most of them do not perform them regularly. Additional research is needed to further the development of baseball pitching recovery modalities.

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