{"id":1872,"date":"2014-10-14T14:01:35","date_gmt":"2014-10-14T21:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestperformancegroup.com\/?page_id=1872"},"modified":"2015-02-12T22:04:46","modified_gmt":"2015-02-13T05:04:46","slug":"asmi-research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/bestperformancegroup.com\/?page_id=1872","title":{"rendered":"ASMI Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

The American Sports Medicine Institute<\/a>\u00a0(ASMI) has long been considered the authority on pitching mechanics studies as they have published the most peer-reviewed papers on this topic.\u00a0 Dr. James Andrews<\/a> is widely regarded as one of the premier orthopaedic surgeons in the US, and has performed the most Tommy John (TJ) procedures in the world. \u00a0Dr. Glenn Fleisig<\/a> runs ASMI and has published numerous papers specific to the biomechanics of pitching.\u00a0 The combination of a world renowned biomechanics lab and a sports medicine practice that treats thousands of professional athletes annually naturally makes ASMI a premier sports medicine research facility.<\/p>\n

ASMI\u00a0has been studying the biomechanics of baseball pitching<\/a> for over two decades. \u00a0Dr. Fleisig\u00a0is the Chair of Research at ASMI and is considered to be the preeminent expert on pitching biomechanics having studied it for over 25 years. \u00a0The following introduction was published as the first part of a Q&A<\/a> with Dr. Fleisig by Jonah Keri at Baseball Prospectus on January 23, 2014 and provides a good summary of Dr. Fleisig’s work at ASMI:<\/p>\n

“Dr. Glenn Fleisig is the Smith and Nephew Chair of Research at the <\/i>American Sports Medicine Institute, an organization founded by noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews dedicated to improving the understanding, prevention, and treatment of sports-related injuries through research and education. Fleisig has worked closely with players and coaches at all levels, from youth leagues to the big leagues, teaching performance optimization and injury prevention methods.”<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n

The following quotes from Dr. Fleisig were taken from The Why Files: The Science Behind the News<\/strong>\u00a0website which recently wrote an article entitled Pitching the Biomechanics<\/a>, and had some good quotes from Dr. Fleisig about the types of studies they perform at ASMI. \u00a0The following excerpt is taken directly from that article:<\/p>\n

The Institute has a library of more than 2,000 athletes from little league-aged kids to elite professional pitchers.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe put two dozen reflective markers on them, and they throw from the pitcher\u2019s mound in our laboratory while our cameras and computers record all the movements from windup to the follow-through after the release the ball,\u201d Fleisig said.<\/em><\/p>\n

The result is a complicated stick figure, which is compared by ASMI \u201cbiomechanists\u201d with advanced degrees in ergonomics and biomechanical engineering against the range of other recorded pitchers.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re watching the angle of their forearm to upper arm as they stride, where their front foot lands, the way their trunk swivels around to help generate speed as the arm moves through the throwing motion,\u201d Fleisig said.<\/em><\/p>\n

Timing and angles are crucial to a pair of the most important factors of a pitcher\u2019s success: throwing hard and keeping the throwing arm in good working order.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the biomechanics of proper pitching, the combination of good ball velocity without excessive stress on the elbow and shoulder,\u201d Fleisig said. \u201cWe also know the difference in adults and children throwing fastballs and curveballs. The current challenge is to spread the science to the field.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The following video provides a good summary of a typical pitching biomechanical evaluation at ASMI.<\/p>\n