Tarik Skubal is the latest athlete to return to play faster than anticipated thanks to a new surgical technique or technology. But there’s something even better than coming back more quickly from an injury: avoiding an injury in the first place. Can injury prevention be improved as much as injury treatment? In this themed episode, Ben Lindbergh talks to four guests about three potential ways to keep players healthy. First (5:14), Mariners biomechanist Cedric Attias joins to discuss how pitching mechanics affect elbow stress, whether injuries stem more from nature or nurture, and whether MLB teams are prioritizing injury research. Second (49:23), Daryl and Adam Moreau, the father-and-son inventors of FlexProGrip, explain how forearm weakness endangers the UCL, how they designed and validated their training tool, and how the device has been adopted in the game. Third (1:41:18), Steve Rowson, director of the Helmet Lab at Virginia Tech, shares how helmets have improved across sports, why dangerous impacts are different in football and baseball, and why catcher’s masks may need an overhaul to minimize concussions.
Audio intro: Ian Phillips, “Effectively Wild Theme”Audio interstitial 1: Luke Lillard, “Effectively Wild Theme”Audio interstitial 2: Xavier LeBlanc, “Effectively Wild Theme”Audio outro: Grant Brisbee, “Effectively Wild Theme”Link to NanoNeedle AP pieceLink to NanoNeedle Athletic pieceLink to Ben on protecting pitchersLink to Ben on pitcher roster limitsLink to McGregor/ElAttrache articleLink to MLB/ElAttrache articleLink to article on Altuve’s returnLink to article on Alvarez’s returnLink to internal brace infoLink to article on Tatum’s returnLink to article on Mahomes’s returnLink to article on Kittle’s returnLink to summary of Cedric’s researchLink to Cedric’s research paperLink to other research on lower arm slotsLink to pulldowns explainerLink to Ben on team secretsLink to Rieekan quoteLink to lower-arm-slots trendLink to video clip about the trendLink to Crizer on arm slotsLink to Misiorowski gameLink to FlexProGrip siteLink to FlexProGrip article 1Link to FlexProGrip article 2Link to FlexProGrip article 3Link to FlexProGrip article 4Link to FlexProGrip white papersLink to Driveline researchLink to The Layback PodcastLink to The Island of Doctor MoreauLink to Edward ScissorhandsLink to Helmet Lab concussions researchLink to helmet ratings siteLink to Rowson’s faculty pageLink to CNN Helmet Lab storyLink to Ben on catcher concussionsLink to Carlin baseball vs. football bitLink to risk compensation wikiLink to Helmet Lab testing footageLink to Marvin the Martian wikiLink to Great Gazoo wikiLink to Dark Helmet wikiLink to Torres protective cap article 1Link to Torres protective cap article 2Link to Torres cap footageLink to pitcher cap inserts info 1Link to pitcher cap inserts info 2Link to pitcher cap inserts info 3Link to softball pitcher mask articleLink to softball fielder mask articleLink to softball fielder mask researchLink to The Athletic on catcher nut shotsLink to SIS on catcher nut shotsLink to Knoxville incident
Sponsor Us on Patreon Give a Gift Subscription Email Us: [email protected] Effectively Wild Subreddit Effectively Wild Wiki Apple Podcasts Feed Spotify Feed YouTube Playlist Facebook Group Bluesky Account Twitter Account Get Our Merch!