ECB Coaches Association links Inside Edge 6 May 2018 | Page 60

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LOOKING AFTER FIELDER’S ARMS
LOOKING AFTER FIELDER’S ARMS
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We will discuss the physical demands of the skill,
emphasising the importance of appropriate strategies for
shoulder care. The injuries that are commonly observed
in baseball throwers are at the elbow and shoulder, which
is entirely understandable once we are aware of the
extreme forces that throwing demands.
The preparation of our cricketers from a throwing
perspective is of key importance, particularly once we
fully appreciate the extreme demands of the skill. Whilst
cricketers may not throw at the velocities that baseball
pitchers manage, the technique displayed has certain
similarities. It therefore stands to reason that we should
certainly prepare in a similar fashion and with the same
outcome in mind: keeping athletes healthy and allowing
them to excel in performance.
Worth warming up!
As the front foot contacts the floor, throwers have begun the arm cocking
phase. This phase sees a maximal external rotation of the shoulder, which
subsequently allows greater acceleration of the hand forwards. Unsurprisingly,
the physical stresses that occur at this portion of the movement are significant.
The shoulder and elbow experience maximal forces around similar times in this
position and the Infraspinatus (one of the rotator cuff muscles at the posterior
shoulder) may become impinged and subsequently tear. Meanwhile, the front
of the shoulder capsule and the elbow ligaments are also under strain.

Following the cocking phase, the arm accelerates forwards rapidly - this
action is one of the fastest joints movements recorded in all of sports. In
addition to this, the biceps muscle is required to decelerate the forward
progression of the arm, while the shoulder and elbow contend with huge
resultant forces. Tommy John Surgeries (ulnar collateral ligament), SLAP tears
and rotator cuff tears are all too commonplace.

With all this being said, how do we keep our throwers healthy? The best
strength and conditioning programmes for throwing don’t solely focus on the
shoulder: developing athletes capable of producing force from the ground up,
with the ability to brace, rotate, squat, lunge and hinge should be a priority
for all performance coaches. Both stability and mobility capacities lower down
the chain have an impact on the requirements at the shoulder and elbow.
Therefore developing programmes for cricketers that provide them with a
good foundation of strength and movement is paramount.
As cricketers develop, it may be possible to witness anatomical
differences between throwers. These may be congenital, or the result of
adaptations to the throwing they have completed. As cricket is a sport that is
imbalanced in nature, the concept of handedness (one side dominating over
the other) is highly applicable. Throwing arms are commonly more retroverted
(rotated backwards) than non-throwing arms in the same individual, and more
in the throwing shoulder of throwers than non-throwers. Interestingly, this
Looking after
fielder’s arms