Pitching exercises to strengthen the shoulder.
Remember the shoulder consists of numerous muscles, which involve moving the arm in numerous directions. There are two groups of muscles in the shoulder one group on the inside of the shoulder and one group of muscles on the outside of the shoulder. .
I. Internal or the deep shoulder muscles.
.
The muscles on the inside of the shoulder (the deep shoulder muscles) are called the rotator cuff muscles. These rotator cuff muscles twist the arm inward and outward (this is called internal rotation and external rotation). .
B. The outside or superficial muscles.
The outside muscles consist predominantly of the deltoid (which elevates the arm away from the body and the corico- brachialis musculature, which helps in flexing the shoulder. Most typical bodybuilders will work the deltoid muscles since they are the outside of the body and give people size and definition of muscles. .
II. Shoulder injuries.
Pitchers have to be concerned with the internal strength and the ability of the arm to turn in numerous directions. That is why the most common shoulder injuries to the pitcher are to the rotator cuff muscles. The rotator cuff muscles MUST the strong to prevent injuries to the shoulder for pitchers.
.
III. The rotator cuff:.
.
The rotator cuff is really not one single piece of tissue. Many people view it as one structure where in reality the rotator cuff consists of four separate muscles, which attach the arm (the hummers) to the body. These four muscles are responsible for movement of the shoulder and stability of the shoulder joint in basic movements. .
Supraspinatus.
Infraspinatus.
Subscapularis.
Teres minor.
Sometimes these muscles are called the SITS muscles because of the first letter of each muscle combined to form the word SITS. .
The rotator cuff muscles are further divided into muscles, which are responsible for both internal rotation (turning the arm inward) and external rotation (turning the arm outward).