Rehabilitation and exercise therapy

Aims] Long-toss throwing technique is considered more variable than infield throwing technique.However, it remains unclear whether this leads to poor throwing technique that could induce elbow injuries.This study compared long-toss and infield throws to determine whether long-toss throws lead to a poor throwing technique that increases elbow valgus stress in collegiate baseball players.[Methods] Sixteen collegiate baseball players performed three long-toss and three infield throws each.The throwing technique was evaluated using a video camera.Elbow joint indicators were measured using PULSEthrow, and ball speed was measured using a speed gun.McNemar's test was used to compare techniques between the throwing conditions.Elbow joint indicators and ball speed were compared using paired t-tests.[Results] Poor throwing technique occurred significantly more frequently during longtoss throwing.No significant difference was found in elbow valgus stress.Ball speed was significantly lower during long-toss throwing.[Conclusions] Long-toss throwing is more likely to result in poor throwing technique and decreased ball speed but it does not significantly change elbow valgus stress.