Effect of repetitive pitching motion on muscle hardness in baseball pitchers

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K10915
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 59020:Sports sciences-related
• Research Institution: Kyushu Kyoritsu University
• Principal Investigator: Hasegawa Shin 九州共立大学, スポーツ学部, 教授 (70350444)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 船津 京太郎 九州共立大学, スポーツ学部, 教授 (10259658)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 筋硬度 / 投球動作 / 回復時間 / 超音波

Outline of Final Research Achievements

It is well known that repetitive pitching motions lead to muscle stiffness in baseball pitchers. However, it is not clear which muscles tend to increase muscle hardness after pitching and how long it takes to recover. The purpose of this study was to clarify the increase in muscle stiffness after repeated throwing motions and the time to recovery of muscle stiffness. A baseball pitcher performed a pitching motion (15 pitches x 7 innings = 105 pitches) assuming an actual game. Muscle hardness was measured before pitching, after pitching, 24 hours, and 48 hours after pitching. As a result, muscle stiffness of the supraspinatus muscle increased 24 hours and 48 hours after pitching.

Free Research Field

トレーニング科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では、野球投手において筋硬度の上昇が示されやすい筋を明らかにするとともに、その回復時間を明示することができた。本研究で使用したBモード超音波装置を使用した筋硬度の測定法は、筋硬度という観点から筋の回復時間を推定することができることから、球数制限や投球間隔の設定を行うにあたり、個々の投手に応じた回復時間や投球数の設定に利用できる可能性があることを示唆している。