Switch Pitching

Being a big baseball fan, this story really caught my attention. I was listening to the radio on the way home from work yesterday, and they were talking about Yankees minor league pitcher Pat Venditte appearing in a minor league game agains the Braves and pitching both right handed and left handed. I'm sure that most people are familiar with the concept of "switch-hitting", where a hitter can bat either left-handed or right handed depending on the pitcher. In recent years, however, the number of switch hitters in the major leagues appears to be dwindling. It is very difficult to put in the practice hours to be an expert hitter from both sides of the plate. Even more difficult than switch hitting is switch pitching. But, that is what Pat Venditte is able to do as he attempts to work his way up the major leagues with the Yankees. Venditte has a special six finger glove so he can easily switch from a right handed pitcher to a left handed pitcher between batters. According to Rick Reilly of ESPN, only 3 pitchers have appeared in a Major League game and pitched with both arms. What is remarkable to me is that he has the ability to pitch proficiently with both arms. From a Motor Learning and Biomechanics perspective, that is very difficult to do; to achieve optimal neural activation of the muscles and movement coordination pattern of his non-dominant arm. Most people I know, including myself, look rather clumsy and uncoordinated when trying to throw with their non-dominant arm. Also, in order for him to be a proficient left handed and right handed pitcher, he has to put in twice the amount of work that a normal pitcher would. That includes rotator cuff exercises for both arms, drills using both arms, warming up both arms, practicing with both arms, etc. It really is a remarkable achievement and hopefully he will be able to progress and pitch in the Major Leagues.

Article and video from mlb.com of Pat Venditte

Tommy John Surgery

With spring training in full gear and opening day right around the corner, baseball injuries are starting to crop up. A common injury among pitchers is a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). This ligament is found on the medial (inside) of the elbow and is critical to stabilize the elbow during the overhand throwing motion. Most of the time it is injured over time due to the repetitive stress placed on the ligament from overhand throwing. In 1974, Tommy John, a pitcher for the Dodgers, tore the UCL in his pitching arm. Up until this point, this injury was considered to be a career ending injury, much like an ACL tear was to a football player. Tommy John was not ready to quit playing baseball, so he asked Dr. Frank Jobe to invent a procedure to repair the ligament. Dr. Jobe took a tendon from John's forearm, and used this tendon as a replacement for the UCL. The surgery was a success and John won over 170 games after the procedure, which bears his name. Today, many of the best pitchers in baseball have had Tommy John surgery, including Chris Carpenter, John Smoltz, Josh Johnson, and A.J. Burnett. The tendon that is now commonly used as a replacement for the UCL is the palmaris longus. Rehabilitation after surgery generally takes 12-18 months, and will vary depending on whether the pitcher is a starter or a reliever.

Multiple Sclerosis

We are covering the nervous system in Applied Anatomy, and one of the diseases we have discussed is multiple scleroris (MS). I'm sure that most people have heard of MS or know someone that has this disease, but may not truly understand it. To really understand MS, we first have to discuss the axon. The axon is the long, cylindrical process of a neuron (nerve cell) that transmits the signal to the next neuron or muscle. Many axons are covered by a myelin sheath, which is made of lipids. The myelin sheath insulates the axon and increases nerve conduction velocity, meaning the signal travels down the axon faster with myelin. Multiple scleroris is a disease of the central nervous system (CNS). The myelination degenerates, and causes sclerosis (hardening) to occur at different places along the axon. In a way, MS is similar to atherosclerosis, in which arteries become hardened and blood flow is reduced or cut off. With MS, the nerve signal is either transmitted very slowly or not at all. MS affects both sensory neurons and motor neurons. Most people are diagnosed with MS between the ages of 20-40. The original symptoms are typically transient, unilateral blindness, or double vision. MS is diagnosed with a lumbar puncture. Because the nerve signal cannot reach the muscle, atrophy will occur (wasting away of skeletal muscle). Persons with MS will also have difficulty with fine motor movements and whole body coordination. There is no known treatment for MS, but most people can live fairly normal lives if the symptoms are managed properly. Here is an article on a former Auburn football player I worked with and his life with multiple sclerosis.