Efficacy Of Proteus Motion Training To Increase Fastball Velocity In Collegiate Pitchers

Document Type

Conference Presentation

Department

Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences Department

Conference Title

American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting

Organization

American Physical Therapy Association

Location

San Diego, CA

Date of Presentation

9-1-2022

DOI

10.1249/01.mss.0000877484.81995.55

Volume

54

Issue

9S

First Page

193

Abstract

Proteus (Proteus Motion, USA) is a novel testing and training instrument that produces isotonic resistance through three-dimensional space. It is increasingly employed as a component of baseball conditioning regimens to improve pitching performance, but its efficacy has not been confirmed. PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of a Proteus-focused training program on changes in fastball velocity. METHODS: 14 collegiate baseball pitchers, ages 18-22, underwent 6 weeks of structured exercise using the Proteus device; 13 subjects completed baseline and follow-up testing and were considered the study sample. At both testing sessions, fastball velocity was measured using Rapsodo (Rapsodo, USA), and each subject completed a battery of 11 exercise tests (5 bilateral, 6 unilateral) on Proteus. We exported the Proteus Performance Score (PPS) as well as composite calculations of power, acceleration, explosiveness, and velocity across all exercises. Paired-samples t-tests evaluated performance changes from baseline to follow-up. Linear regressions tested the relationships between Proteus metrics and fastball velocity at baseline and follow-up. RESULTS: Fastball velocity was 83.5 ± 1.2 mph at baseline and 87.1 ± 3.2 mph at follow-up (p < 0.001). Similarly, PPS increased from 1.3 ± 0.2 to 1.5 ± 0.1 (p = 0.002) over the 6-week intervention, and it predicted fastball velocity at both baseline (p = 0.027) and follow-up (p < 0.001). Mean Proteus power improved from 213.2 ± 48.7 w to 258.3 ± 58.2 w (p < 0.001) and predicted fastball velocity at follow-up (β = 0.012; p = 0.001) but not baseline (p = 0.177). Mean Proteus acceleration improved from 15.7 ± 13.0 m/s2 to 18.4 ± 8.4 m/s2 (p < 0.001) and predicted fastball velocity at baseline (β = 0.048; p = 0.033) and follow-up (β = 0.100; p < 0.001). Mean Proteus explosiveness improved from 830.9 ± 696.5 w/s to 984.0 ± 446.5 w/s (p < 0.001) and predicted fastball velocity at baseline (β = 0.001; p = 0.033) and follow-up (β = 0.002; p < 0.001). Mean Proteus velocity improved from 17.8 ± 4.1 m/s2 to 21.5 ± 4.9 m/s2 (p < 0.001) and predicted fastball velocity at follow-up (β = 0.145; p = 0.001) but not baseline (p = 0.177). CONCLUSIONS: A 6-week, Proteus-focused exercise intervention elicited significant improvement in pitch velocity and Proteus performance metrics among collegiate pitchers.

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