Guess What? Mound Height Directly Relates To Pitching Arm Stress

This study substantiates some of my thoughts about flat ground versus mound work, especially for some of the 10 and 12 year olds I work with.

A new study by the Medical College of Wisconsin, led by Milwaukee Brewers team physician William Raasch, concludes that the height of the pitching mound can affect a pitcher's throwing-arm motion. And the higher the mound (it was 15 inches high until 1968), the more stress there is. That increased stress can also make it hard for the pitcher to replicate the pitch and increase the potential for injury.

"They are using their body to accelerate the arm and the ball, so the body has to generate certain forces to hold things in place, whether that is a ligament or a muscle," Raasch said. "These things are generating counter force."

Read full article here

(Thanks, Mark Collins, for forwarding this study.)