Mobility Screen

Alex showed a “neutral” posture during her athletic movements, which is good. Her thoracic mobility falls in the “loose” category.  During the t-spine rotation test, she turned 60 degrees to her right side, and 70 degrees to her left side. During the pelvic tilt test, she passed but showed vibration, which indicates an imbalance between her lower abdominals and lower back, which should be a focus of her strength plan.  Dead bug exercises, as well as hanging leg raises should correct the issue over time. She passed the pelvic rotation and torso rotation tests, indicating good motor control of her pelvis and torso during rotational movements, as well as good stability while doing these movements.

She failed the overhead squat test, but passed when her arms were overhead.  She had good hip and ankle mobility, but struggled to hold thoracic extension during the movement.  This should be a major focus of her movement prep plan.

Her muscles in her scapular region were under-developed, which should be a major focus of her strength plan. Her right scapula was winged slightly, which could put her at a greater risk for a throwing injury.  Please consult PT/Training staff on the matter. She passed the reach roll and lift test, showing good stability in the scapula during overhead movements.  She showed adequate mobility in external and internal rotation of the shoulder.  Her scap retraction mobility falls in the “loose” category, which is not uncommon for throwers.  She will require a lot of torso clearance during the downswing of her pitch to take advantage of that mobility. She had good lat length in both arms.

Her hip mobility falls in the “tight” and “loose” categores, as she turned 60 degrees internally on the right side, 45 degrees externally on the right side, 65 degrees internally on the left side and 45 degrees externally on the left side.  Her loose mobility internally on her plant leg may suggest that she land with a more closed foot as she plants. She failed the single leg balance test on both legs, failing to get past 10 seconds on both. She could benefit from some unilateral work in the weight room, as instability as she plants into rotation can lead to energy losses throughout her pitching motion. Her hamstring flexibility was good. During her glute bridge test she showed good stability in her lower body but some instability in her core, which should be a major focus of her strength plan.  Anti-rotational exercises should be a part of her strength routine.

All wrist, forearm, and cervical screens were passed showing no limitations.  She also showed greater than 30 degrees of range to each side during the side bend test, which shows no thoracic limitation when bending side to side.