Overstriding

Many coaches advise pitchers to be explosive off the mound and lunge out as far as they can. Understandably, the pitcher wants to be as powerful as possible. Some coaches state the drive to the plate during the acceleration phase of throwing should be about 80% of their height. The issues with this advice is in the majority of cases the pitcher lands on his heel. This causes the knee to extend prematurely and limits internal rotation of the opposing hip of the throwing arm. Additionally, when a pitcher overstrides, this causes the opposing hip to move backward and inhibits the ability to get the chest over the lead leg. This causes the hip to move into a posterior pelvic tilt, flexes the lumbar and thoracic spine, and causes the scapula to protract or move outward too early. These actions result in posterior shoulder strain and causes the humerus (upper arm) to rotate inward farther and faster than the forearm resulting in a significant secondary stress load to the elbow and UCL. When viewed from the side, the thrower forms a C-like configuration from the lead foot and leg into the torso, shoulder, and arm.