Editorial Commentary: Rehabilitation of the Overhead Throwing Athlete Requires Supervision of Mechanics, Velocity, and Total Workload.

Abstract

Rehabilitation of the baseball athlete requires understanding of the unique injury profile of throwers and the pathologic conditions specific to the throwing motion. To optimize performance recovery, consideration must be given to age of the athlete, mechanics of throwing, velocity or effort of the throw, and total workload over time, with careful attention to minimize spikes in workload. Rehabilitation success of junior throwers is variable and likely relates to lack of high-level supervised throwing programs and mechanical analysis. Given the epidemic of elbow injuries in our younger athletes, efforts to standardize rehabilitation metrics for progression will be of significant value.