Arm pronation is when the palms face outwards or behind the body, which can benefit athletes like baseball pitchers and weightlifters. Proper pronation can prevent injury and improve muscle performance by transferring tension to stronger muscles. However, excessive pronation can cause pain and discomfort.
Arm pronation is a condition that orients the palms outward away from or behind the body. This is a natural position for some people, while other people may find this condition difficult to achieve. Many athletes, especially baseball pitchers, may benefit from some arm pronation, as it sometimes aids in the arm’s natural motion. Weightlifters can take advantage of this orientation when performing certain exercises. In other cases, however, this orientation of the arms can cause pain or discomfort due to unnatural movement of the shoulders, elbows or wrists.
Athletes are often more concerned than any other segment of the population about arm pronation. Baseball pitchers will need to work on proper form during the pitch to ensure pronation, as arm pronation helps protect the elbow and rotator cuff from injury. Without pronation, the thrower can end up locking their elbow, which can lead to several painful conditions, including sprains, muscle strains, or even stress fractures. Repetitive motion can increase the likelihood of injury, but pronation can help prevent injury during such repetitive strain.
Weightlifters also focus on arm pronation to prevent injury during exercises and even improve muscle performance. The orientation of the arm will often determine how efficiently an object can be lifted. Increased pronation of the arm is likely as the weight of the lifted object increases. This is why baseball players are more susceptible to injuries when pitching: A baseball is very light, which means less pronation is likely. A weight putter, however, usually uses a much larger object for the throw, which means more pronation will occur. Pronation obviously does not prevent injury entirely, although the risk of injury is significantly reduced.
Tension transfer into the muscles is also reduced by pronation. When an athlete throws an object, most of the muscles in the arm will experience some sort of stress, but if the arm is properly pronated, less stress will be transferred to the smaller, weaker muscles, such as those found in the rotator cuff or in the elbow. Instead, the load is transferred to longer, stronger muscles that can handle the excess force of the throw. When throwing, a lot of the stress can actually go into the back rather than the arm. These muscles are longer and stronger, and are better prepared for the repeated demands of physical activity.
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