University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Graduate School
Doi
Abstract
Pitching mechanical errors are potential risk factors for upper extremity injury in baseball pitchers. Creating a reliable assessment tool will allow coaches and sports medicine professionals to identify faulty pitching mechanics and correct these mechanics before injury occurs. The purpose of this study was to establish the intra- and inter-rater reliability of previously studied biomechanical errors that have been linked to injurious stresses. Each participant pitched a minimum of ten pitches that included a minimum of three strikes, while frontal and sagittal video was collected. Separate Cohen's kappa coefficients were used to establish reliability. Acceptable intra-rater reliability was established for all six biomechanical errors. Acceptable inter-rater reliability was established for three out of the six errors. This study lays the foundation for the development of a clinically applicable assessment tool which has the potential of identifying faulty pitching mechanics to decrease the injury associated with pitching.Master of Art
