Throwing smarter, not softer: How baseball pitchers can protect their elbows

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As professional baseball sees another high-profile elbow injury with Toronto Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos having undergone ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) surgery, new research from the University of Waterloo suggests many pitchers may be able to reduce stress on their elbows without sacrificing velocity.

Computer modelling at the University of Waterloo shows that professional baseball pitchers could make mechanical changes to avoid a common, career-threatening elbow injury without necessarily sacrificing competitive velocity.

"Our simulation found solutions that suggest there's untapped efficiency out there,” said Cedric Attias, who led the study as a graduate student in mechanical engineering at Waterloo. “Our goal isn't to tell pitchers to throw softer. It's to help them throw smarter."

Researchers built a detailed digital skeleton with muscles, ligaments and joints to examine the extreme twisting forces exerted during the throwing motion on the UCL, a small band of tissue on the inside of the elbow that helps hold it together.