I am saddened by the news that Stephen Strasburg most likely will undergo "Tommy John" surgery to repair the Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) of his pitching elbow. He is a tremendous talent. I wish him the best.
I was looking at some still photos and some video of Stephen earlier today (Google Image search). One YouTube video of ESPN's Feature of Stephen has a comment in it that his mechanics were clean and scouts were not concerned for any potential injury. (See below)
As the owner of a Pitching and Baseball Performance business, I use video analysis to identify mechanical flaws and the faults that cause them. Looking back at some of the video and still pictures you will notice that Strasburg has his pitching side elbow higher than his shoulder and way behind his torso at/near foot strike. Amongst other physiological issues, this particular mechanical flaw places stress on the front of the shoulder. (There is plenty of research to back that statement up.) Why does it cause this stress to the front of the shoulder? It is due to the back of the shoulder being too tight (like a hammock being stretched from each end). If the back of the shoulder is tight, then the ball (of the ball and socket joint) is pushed forward.
How does this lead to elbow injuries? As the back of the shoulder gets tight and the number of pitches and innings over the course of a season grows, the shoulder begins to drop down. If the shoulder drops down, the elbow drops down. If the elbow drops down, the elbow will more times than not begin leading the motion towards home plate. This results in the UCL sustaining forces beyond its upper limits and it tears.
Strasburg's injury could have stemmed from his shoulder being tight! (Oh by the way, didn't he spend some time on the DL for shoulder inflammation this year - I'm just sayin'.) Think about it.
