Performance Monitoring & Injury Prevention
Overview
Soft-tissue injuries, such as hamstring strain injuries (HSI), continue to be some of the most prevalent injuries across all ages of competitive team sport. The etiology underpinning the risk of soft-tissue injuries is multi-factorial, with numerous contributing factors including previous injury, muscle or developmental weakness, rapid unaccustomed movement, overall workload and competition-fatigue, as well as certain muscle architecture characteristics. We have been working on a number of research and community-outreach fronts, predominately focused on adolescent athlete development in an attempt to mitigate the risk of soft-tissue and overuse injuries in these individuals. This work could not be possible without the continued support of a number of external partners, for example SC del Sol MLS Next Academy, Playermaker and research colleagues involved in the ASU Pitching Biomechanics Lab.
Current Projects
Fatigue Monitoring in Team Sport
Our lab has explored both mechanisms and interventions to mitigate or attenuate fatigue in various team sport contexts. From fatigue profiling to hamstring strengthening, we have and are currently investigating the multi-faceted nature of fatigue experienced in adolescent and adult athletes. These projects are both lab-based as well as training interventions embedded within local, national and international sporting communities. We have multiple cross-disciplinary partnerships across ASU, most prevalent being with Daniel McIntosh in W.P. Carey and Larry Schneider in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences. These collaborations are aimed at improving our capacity to research in the area of Sport Analytics, as well as expand our data handling and management capacity within the lab. The partnerships have also provided internship opportunities at a range of local sport performance facilities (e.g., EXOS, ASU Athletics, NEUROFORCEONE).
Pitching Mechanics and Injury Prevention
The IHPL has a strong focus area, led by Dr Leddon, investigating techniques to reduce the incidence of shoulder and elbow surgeries in youth baseball pitchers. An astounding number of young pitchers’ experience injuries in their shoulder or elbow that require surgery or retirement from the sport by the time they leave high school. As such, we have established a research collaborative in conjunction with Mayo Sports Medicine Orthopedic Surgeons Dr’s Matthew Anastasi and John Tokish to examine anthropometric measurements of the hand, fingers, forearm and upper arm, in helping to determine developmentally when a pitcher can properly throw different pitches without affecting the mechanics that lead to injury.
Relevant Publications, Conferences & Media
Publications
Escamilla, R.F., Poage, C., Brotherton, S., MacLeod, T.D., Leddon, C., Andrews, J.R. Kinematic and Radiographic Evaluation of Acromioclavicular Reconstruction with a Synthetic Ligament. Adv Orthop. 7144209, 2022 (doi: 10.1155/2022/7144209).
Fleisig, G.S., Leddon, C.E., Laughlin, W.A, Ciccotti, M.G., Mandelbaum, B.R., Aune, K.T., Escamilla, R.F., MacLeod, T.D., Andrews, J.R. Biomechanical performance of baseball pitchers with a history of ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction. Am J Sports Med. 43(5):1045-50, 2015 (doi: 10.1177/0363546515570464).
Hong, J., Barnes, M.J., Leddon, C.E., Van Ryssegem, G., Alamar, B. Reliability of the sitting hand press-up test for identifying and quantifying the level of scapular medial border posterior displacement in overhead athletes. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 6(4):306-11, 2011 (PMCID: PMC3230158).
Freire, R., Pereira, G.R., Alcantara, J.M.A., Santos, R., Hausen, M., Iaborahy, A. New Predictive Resting Metabolic Rate Equations for High-Level Athletes: A Cross-Validation Study. Med Sci Sport Exer. 54(8):1335-1345, 2022 (doi: 10.1249/mss.0000000000002926).
Freire, R., Hausen, M., Pereira, G. et al. Body Composition, Aerobic Fitness, Isokinetic Profile, and Vertical Jump Ability in Elite Male and Female Volleyball and Beach Volleyball Players. J Sci Sport Exerc. 5:385–395, 2023 (doi.org/10.1007/s42978-022-00192-y).
Freire, R., Hausen, M., Sanders, G.J. et al. Anthropometric, Physiological, and Neuromuscular Profiles of Elite Female Basketball Players Across Court's Position. J Sci Sport Exerc. 2023 (doi.org/10.1007/s42978-023-00249-6).
Conference Presentations
2023 Understanding Shoulder Testing, Measurement and Strengthening in Throwing Athletes; Arizona Athletic Training Association Winter Symposium (oral).
2020 Loss of glenohumeral range of motion and its effects on eccentric strength in intercollegiate pitchers; Annual Meeting the American College of Sports Medicine (virtual poster).
2018 Glenohumeral Joint Laxity and Stiffness in Collegiate Pitchers with and without Total Range of Motion Deficit; 2018: NATA National Convention (oral).
2013 Loss of range of motion in the pitcher and its effects on strength and glenohumeral laxity; 2013: ASMI Injuries in Baseball Course (invited speaker).
2012 Progress of GIRD in youth pitchers; 2012: ASMI Injuries in Baseball Course (invited speaker).
Media
More to come in this section.