Throwing a baseball lies at the very essence of the game. Whether you are a pitcher, catcher, infielder or outfielder, the act of the throwing the ball multiple times a game is a basic requirement. For pitchers, the stress of throwing as many as 100 pitches at speeds of 90 mph and with curves and breaks is highly stressful to the shoulder and leads to many different types of injuries.
Rotator Cuff Tendinitis
The rotator cuff is the area of muscles and tendons that connects the upper arm with the shoulder blade and helps keep the ball of the shoulder in its socket. This area is perhaps the most stressed when a baseball is thrown and tendinitis occurs when the repeated throwing motion irritates and inflames the tendons in the joint.
Torn Rotator Cuff
In extreme cases, the tendons and muscles in the rotator cuff can become frayed or torn, which generally leads to a pitcher being shut down for the remainder of that season and is corrected with surgery. According to the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the most common location for a rotator cuff tear is in the supraspinatus muscle.
Torn Labrum
In the shoulder socket, where the humerous meets the scapula, there is rim of tissue that surrounds the shoulder joint called the labrum. The repetitive throwing of a baseball can cause the biceps muscle to contract against that labrum, causing it to tear. An anterior tear is referred to as a Bankhart tear and a tear on the posterior side, which is common among pitchers, is a SLAP tear, meaning "superior labral from anterior to posterior."
Subluxation
A subluxation is essentially a dislocated shoulder, where the ball and socket joint become separated, then pop back into place without an intervening event. The overhand throwing motion is often a contributor to these injuries, but they can also occur as the result of a collision on the base paths.
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