The follow through is a very important part of the throwing motion that all athletes and coaches need to grasp for both injury prevention and increased performance. From an injury standpoint, if the muscles that we use to throw the ball at high velocities don’t eccentrically contract (slow the arm and body down) properly, then this could mean issues in the low back, hips, shoulders, or elbows. From a performance standpoint, if there are impairments in mobility and stability within the body, it will make it very difficult for the body to be in the proper positions to decelerate after the release point of the ball. Today, we want to outline three areas that need to be commonly improved during the follow through of the throwing motion and also give exercises to fix those flaws.
1. Drifting Backwards After Release Point
Have you ever seen a quarterback, especially at the higher levels, that have trouble finishing their throws? The next time you watch a game, pay attention to see if guys get on to their left leg to finish their follow through. Some of them can, but a lot of them can’t. Why do you think that is? A big problem that we see are guys lacking a lot of internal rotation in their hips. If guys don’t have internal rotation range of motion on their plant leg hip, then it will be impossible for them to finish their follow through. This is a great disservice to some quarterbacks when they are being coached by their position coach because no matter how hard they try to properly finish their follow through, they will hit a block in their hips that won’t allow them to rotate their pelvis through like they should. The first video below outlines the problem that we are talking about. The second is a good way to fix hip internal rotation.
2. Improper Rib and Thorax Position
Without diving into the science too much, most football players today present in a manner that is a over extended position in the pelvis/spine relationship. The pelvis tilts forward, lumbar spine over extends, and thoracic spine is stiff. This starts the vicious cycle of becoming a really bad mover, especially through ranges of rotation. Without taking the deep dive into why rib position matters so much, the first step to ALWAYS FIX problems in the spine, hips, and shoulders is to focus on getting control of the breath first. Many times, football players are chronic hyper inflators that puts them in the position that is mentioned above. When we can get control of our breathing (especially a full exhale), then we can start to reclaim more flexion of the spine, internal rotation of the ribs (less rib flare), and more air into areas of the thoracic spine where it hasn’t been in a long time. In turn, this will set proper position for the scapula to sit on the rib cage, rotator cuff to perform well during the deceleration phase/follow through, and on down the chain. You never thought that you could clean up your elbow issue by focusing on breathing did you? Well, you can! I understand that breathing sounds silly, but I PROMISE you that once you start taking this stuff seriously then you will really start seeing an increase in mobility and decreased pain within your body. Below is a video to help get y’all started down this breathing practice path.
3. Decreased Eccentric Capability of Rotator Cuff
With the laws of specificity, many times we can strengthen the rotator cuff in very basic ways and it not have a great effect on the problem that we are trying to address. An example is performing thera band internal and external rotation, retraction, flexion, extension, etc. These all have their time and place, but the throwing motion is a high velocity movement where the arm has to slow down very quickly in three planes after the release point of the ball. If the body doesn’t have the capability to do this, then muscle strain in the rotator cuff is inevitable. This might even present as impingement in the front of the shoulder. Either of these problems are extremely problematic for quarterbacks. We need to find an exercise that simulates the motion and overloads the cuff in a very controlled manner. Below, you can find just that in our video that we recorded prior. This is a great one!
The body is a system of systems folks. We say this all the time. You can’t expect to burn the candle at both ends and expect your body to perform at max capability all the time. At some point you will most definitely have breakdown. Breakdown leads to serious injury. Serious injury means lost time on the field and the loss of a starting position. We have been there! We don’t want you to be. If you have read this far, then you are definitely willing to go the extra mile. Start by performing these exercises. If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to us! We are here to help. Email at [email protected] or call/text at 812-343-4226.
-Drew Kiel PT, DPT, CSCS