Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33539268›Full record

Trial reportSports health

The Effect of Straight-Line Long-Toss Versus Ultra-Long-Toss Throwing on Passive Glenohumeral Range of Motion Recovery After Pitching.

T David Luo, Aaron D Sciascia, Austin V Stone, Chukwuweike U Gwam, Christopher A Grimes, Jeffrey G Strahm, Sandeep Mannava, G Lane Naugher, Brian R Waterman, Michael T Freehill

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Sports health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Effect of long-toss throwing on elbow injuries in high school baseball pitchers.Asia-Pacific journal of sports medicine, arthroscopy, rehabilitation and technology · 2025
    Article
  2. Review
  3. The Science and Biomechanics of Long-Toss.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2021
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

T David Luo
Aaron D Sciascia
Austin V Stone
Chukwuweike U Gwam
Christopher A Grimes
Jeffrey G Strahm
Sandeep Mannava
G Lane Naugher
Brian R Waterman
Michael T Freehill

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRepetitive throwing in baseball pitchers can lead to pathologic changes in shoulder anatomy, range of motion (notably glenohumeral internal rotation deficit), and subsequent injury; however, the ideal strengthening, recovery, and maintenance protocol of the throwing shoulder in baseball remains unclear. Two strategies for throwing shoulder recovery from pitching are straight-line long-toss (SLT) throwing and ultra-long-toss (ULT) throwing, although neither is preferentially supported by empirical data. HYPOTHESIS: ULT will be more effective in returning baseline internal rotation as compared with SLT in collegiate pitchers after a pitching session. STUDY

designCohort study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3.

methodsA total of 24 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I baseball pitchers with mean age 20.0 ± 1.1 years were randomized to either the ULT group (n = 13; 9 right-hand dominant, 4 left-hand dominant) or SLT group (n = 11; 10 right-hand dominant, 1 left-hand dominant). Measurements (dominant and nondominant, 90° abducted external rotation [ER], internal rotation [IR], and total range of motion [TROM]) were taken at 5 time points across 3 days: before and immediately after a standardized bullpen session on day 1; before and immediately after a randomized standardized ULT or SLT session on day 2; and before practice on Day 3.

resultsULT demonstrated significantly greater final ER compared with baseline (+10°;

conclusionThe routine use of postperformance, ULT throwing to recover from range of motion alterations, specifically IR loss, after a pitching session is not superior to standard, SLT throwing. Based on these findings, the choice of postpitching recovery throwing could be player specific based on experience and comfort. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The most effective throwing regimens for enhancing performance and reducing residual impairment are unclear, and ideal recovery and maintenance protocols are frequently debated with little supporting data. Two strategies for throwing shoulder recovery from pitching are SLT and ULT throwing. These are employed to help maintain range of motion and limit IR loss in pitchers. The routine use of ULT throwing for recovery and to limit range of motion alterations after a pitching session is not superior to SLT throwing.

Indexed as

BaseballBiomechanical PhenomenaCumulative Trauma DisordersHumansMaleRange of Motion, ArticularRisk FactorsRotationShoulder InjuriesShoulder JointYoung Adultbaseballglenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD)injury preventionlong tossshoulder

Identifiers

PMID33539268
PMCPMC8083146
OpenAlexW3126421843

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.