When it rains, it pours. Dodgers Left handed relief pitcher, Tony Cingrani was placed on the 10-day disabled list with "left shoulder inflammation". This isn't the first trip to the disabled list for Cingrani.
2013: Low back strain
2014: left shoulder strain
2017: oblique strain
April 2018 : "dead arm"
Recent (May 2018): 10 day DL with left shoulder inflammation (Lefty reliever Scott Alexander called up)
Tale of the Tape:
When Cingrani lands on his right leg, it poorly stabilizes which affects his pelvis position. As he is still following through when landing on the right, his poor leg and pelvis position make him effectively over reach with his left shoulder to get it off causing a "C" motion (think of his body bending to the right) which offsets his scapula as the ball in the shoulder (humeral head) joint is rotating at warp speeds. This "C" curve might be the main reason for his past oblique and low back strain (one side of this trunk musculature is in a shortened position which will get strained quite easily with rapid lengthening under heavy tension and one side is in a lengthened position which is basically micro-straining everyday).
Other problems that were seen:
- right hip mobility deficit (extension)
- decreased left spinal rotation (not as problematic as he rotates to his right when he throws but will be problematic when he starts to compensate for this deficit)
- excessive spinal extension during drive phase
- excessive spinal extension versus pure external rotation of his shoulder on the left
The Injury Analyst is a blog dedicated to not only explaining injuries that have occurred, but predicting and highlighting future injury risks for professional athletes. You can email us at info@jamsportsandspine.com
Note: I have not seen the subject of this article personally in clinic, rather all views and opinions of the author have been made based off of video footage of the athlete. This article is not meant as a diagnosis or a treatment plan.