Is Softball Pitching a Natural Motion?
For most of my life, I heard that softball pitching was a more “natural” motion than baseball pitching.
I think part of that belief comes from the fact that elbow injury rates are generally lower in softball than in baseball. However, calling the softball pitching motion “natural” is a misconception.
Swinging your arm in a full circle at full speed is not something we do regularly in everyday life. At the highest levels, elite softball pitchers are throwing at speeds that would exceed the speed limit on most highways. To generate that kind of power, the shoulder has to tolerate a tremendous amount of stress.
The most common shoulder injuries I see in softball pitchers are rotator cuff inflammation and biceps tendinitis.
The rotator cuff is stressed throughout the entire pitching motion. Its main job is to keep the head of the humerus centered in the shoulder socket as the arm rotates and moves in multiple directions. Because a softball pitcher moves her arm through nearly full range of motion at high speed, the rotator cuff is placed under stress at almost every angle during the delivery.
The other common injury I see is biceps tendinitis, specifically involving the long head of the biceps near the shoulder. This tendon is placed under the most stress when the pitcher’s arm is extended behind her and she begins pulling the ball forward at maximum speed. Large forces are transferred through the biceps tendon during this phase of the pitch.
In general, rotator cuff pain is usually felt on the outside or back of the shoulder, while biceps tendinitis tends to show up on the front of the shoulder.
I will link here to some effective exercises that help keep these high risk areas healthy.
Another area that is commonly injured in softball pitchers is the low back.
A large amount of force is generated from the lower body and transferred through the spine into the throwing arm. During the pitching motion, the low back rotates back with the hips and then rapidly whips forward as the hips drive toward the plate. This creates significant rotational stress at high speeds.
I have worked with many softball players who develop low back pain from these repeated demands. At younger ages, many pitchers are also hitting, which adds even more rotational stress to the spine.
Both mobility and strength are essential for protecting the low back, and I will link some helpful exercises here as well.
On another note, I believe it would be extremely beneficial for softball pitchers to have pitch count limits similar to those used in baseball.
It is not uncommon for a pitcher to throw three hundred to four hundred pitches or more over a single weekend tournament. In my opinion, this is not healthy, especially for younger athletes who are still developing.
All right, rant over. I hope this was helpful.
-Dr. Caleb
PS. I found this guide helpful as a reference to reduce the risk of injury in softball pitchers.
https://www.ortho.ufl.edu/sites/default/files/2023-03/Softball-Injury-Prevention.pdf
