League Appsreports on picture-perfect mechanics. Since effective pitches can come from wildly different throwing motions, how can youth coaches reduce injuries and increase efficiency among their young pitchers?

In a recent podcast episode of 'Sideline Data', they interview Joshua S. Dines, MD, sports medicine surgeon at HSS, to gain a better understanding of shoulder and elbow fatigue.

"We’re trying to do better at determining what’s an appropriate amount for a given athlete to throw. Not every 15-year-old is the same, and not every professional baseball player is the same. If you take a reliever who is used to throwing 20 throws and make him throw 100 throws, his shoulder or elbow will break down because they’re not used to that," explains Dr. Dines.

"We’ve started to shift to this acute versus chronic workload ratio and it’s been popular in other sports such as rugby and soccer. It’s not just looking at throwing, you can use it for any muscle or body part. What it does is come up with a better way to quantify how much work an athlete is doing over the short term relative to what they’re typically doing over a longer period of time," adds Dr. Dines.

Listen to the full interview at LeagueApps.com.