Tim Lincecum, lets stop the trend!
Lets analyze now Mr. Lincecum’s pitching technique. I think that some aspects of his mechanics are his main future career threats.
Looking at the frontal plane, before the release of the ball, Mr. Lincecum does a left lateral flexion of the upper body together with the neck. It is at that point, that he is performing his maximum rotational speed. The structure at the cervical and lumbar level probably looks like this:
And Mr. Lincecum has already antecedents of lower back and neck problems. In September of 2009, when he was put in Disabled List because of back spasms and inflammation, he mentioned that he “had minor back problems as far back as high school". Also, in December of last year (2010), he was resting because of a neck spasm.
Lincecum 2006
Therefore, he has been performing thousands of pitching repetitions for about 10 years (he is 27 years old) having already lower back “issues”. We now know that the load that so far has created “minor muscular discomfort” is also silently eroding his spinal structure. It will probably end in damages that will require surgery interventions. Yes, it is still preventable if the necessary measures are taken.
Now, why I say that the left hip and knee are also under risk?
If we observe the end of the throwing movement, we can appreciate that the body weight is shifted to the left leg for a substantial amount of time. The body load generates a vertical compression and the rotation a torque at the hip level. They both might be creating a wear and tear of the hip joint cartilage and other tissues in the region. In addition, we see the pivotal point of the body at the level of the knee, since the foot is stuck in the ground. That creates rotational forces typical of ACL and meniscus injuries among others.
As a PT for 20 years, and an advanced movement specialist, I totally appreciate what you are saying. Unfortunately there are not many strategies for instructing him, even if he is willing to change his Pattern.
ReplyDeleteExcept for Judith Aston! Judith could break down each of these motions to improve his alignment and make his pitching even better - and he may be able to do it longer as well. Will he listen? He probably would not, or only, as you say, when his body succumbs to this impossible torsion. I would love to know what you could tell him to make it better.
I love that you are thinking in this way. More Sports professionals would not be broken after their careers end. Let me know if you are interested in what I am doing.
Is it possible, that the very issues which have the potential to do damage, are also creating the combination of mechanics which allow him to succeed at such a high level ? Is there any guarantee that changing pitching mechanics to avoid structural bodily damage, would allow Lincecum ( or others ) to generate the same velocity, deception, and ball movement, which he currently enjoys as central to his success on the major league level ?
ReplyDeleteI think his main vulnerability is for stress fracture/degeneration of the lumbar spine for the same reason listed. However, he has been using this technique for quite some time with relatively very few issues. This leads to the question... why not?
ReplyDeleteWatching him pitch and seeing him in still frame show that he spreads motion throughout his system very well. Meaning, he gets the most out of his hip, pelvis, lumbo-sacral, thoracic, and cervical spine, as well as the entire shoulder complex and upper/lower extremity. Long story short, because he uses everything so well he really doesn't overly stress anything even though he gets into more extreme positions in comparison to other athletes.
I agree that he isn't changing anything until it breaks, so the way to keep him healthy is to keep him as mobile as he is now (or more so) as he progresses through his career.
An analysis with still frames can't be complete. Some positions of the back or the arms can appeare wrong in still frames and natural in a dynamic view.
ReplyDelete