Dr. Andrisani didn’t set out to build a device. After years of watching pitchers — kids and pros alike — go down with preventable arm injuries, he wanted to change how arm health gets managed altogether. That thinking led to an approach built around ongoing awareness: giving athletes, coaches, and parents a way to actually understand what a pitcher’s arm is telling them, before pain shows up. The LiVE ARM device and the Permanent Injury Journey chart are the result . These are tools built to put that understanding directly in the hands of the people who need it to develop ongoing habits that ensure the best arm care possible. Still, skepticism is healthy, and we’ve heard every version of it. So let’s address the myths head-on with the research, data, and reasoning behind why this approach works.
Myths: LiVE ARM isn’t worth a damn because….
“Injuries are caused by poor pitching mechanics.”
Yes, poor pitching mechanics increase the stress on the arm, BUT:
- LiVE ARM can help distinguish between good and poor mechanics, because poor throwing mechanics will cause muscle fatigue of the decelerating muscles earlier than fatigue development in pitchers with good mechanics.
- Fatigue also contributes to poor mechanics. Studies show lateralization and lowering of the throwing arm develops with fatigue. These changes increase injury risk…just as fatigue does.
“Muscle testing in one position is inadequate.”
- While LiVE ARM only tests in one position, and focuses on the functional position of arm deceleration, it is not expected to be a panacea for all arm injuries in throwing athletes.
- The other phases of throwing can be easily monitored with the naked eye, the radar gun and more advanced metrics. All of these phases contribute to the throw or pitch. The result of these phases is observed and monitored by the player, coaches, etc. Only the deceleration phase goes unmonitored without the LiVE ARM.
- The LiVE ARM’s one position and deceleration phase focus completes the monitoring of the kinetic chain.
“The LiVE ARM device and positioning introduces too many variables, it can’t be reliable.”
- Extensive research has proven the reliability of LiVE ARM testing to exceed the standards of hand held dynamometers.
- Testing is isometric and performed independently, providing optimal reliability.
- The variables in setting the position of use are easily adjusted for each individual. LiVE ARM has markings and measures to help players repeat their testing position consistently.
“We are already doing it.”
- If you are that is great, BUT you’re not.
- Not all strength testing is the same.
- Needs to be isometric
- Needs consistent positioning
- Needs to be in the functional position of the deceleration phase of throwing
“It tests the shoulder so it won’t help prevent elbow injuries.”
- Fatigue and weakness of the shoulder musculature used in the deceleration phase of throwing, particularly the external rotators of the shoulder, has been consistently reported in patients with elbow injuries from pitching.
- In a LiVE ARM study of high school pitchers, the pitchers with greatest strength losses during their season had much higher injury rates. 2/3 of the injuries reported were elbow and 1/3 were shoulder.
- The forces of the kinetic chain culminate in the shoulder during the deceleration phase. In the functional position LiVE ARM uses, core muscles are activated as well. Issues throughout the kinetic chain will impact LiVE ARM measurements and will increase the rate at which a player’s rate fatigues the decelerating muscle of the shoulder.
“It’s too expensive.”
- The value far exceeds the expense
- One device can be used by entire teams or training facilities
- For travel teams and training facilities
- Healthy players are paying customers while injured players are not.
- Using LiVE ARM demonstrates a commitment to player health
“It’s too hard to get players to use it consistently.”
- It takes 2 minutes to test
- The more a player tests the more it becomes part of their routine
- If you plan to test everyday but you miss a couple of days, the data isn’t compromised.
“Players can tank their test intentionally to get days off from throwing.”
- True, but a significant decrease in LiVE ARM measurements warrants a conversation.
- Why would a pitcher not want to pitch? A tanked test can help you probe to find out.
- Teams with experience using LiVE ARM have consistently commented on the improved communication between players and coaches and/or parents that have developed as a result.
“Our strength and conditioning program focusses on the same muscle groups LiVE ARM tests, so we are good.”
- How do you know if your strength and conditioning program is working? Do you have any arm injuries?
- LiVE ARM provides an objective measure that the player can see. The exercises for the deceleration phase muscles are often performed without true intent or purpose because they don’t lead to increased throwing velocity. By giving players a measure their intent and focus with the exercise programs improves.
- By measuring consistently, compliance with exercise programs can be monitored.
- Muscle strength and activation are different. LiVE ARM measures the functional strength of the decelerating phase muscles. Using the LiVE ARM consistently will give you feedback if your training program is targeting these muscles effectively. No one has proven that one training program is better than another for these muscle groups. I challenge you to prove the effectiveness of your training program by using LiVE ARM consistently.
“I don’t see the pros using it.”
- The pros are monitoring strength and much, much, more.
- The pros are paying attention to LiVE ARM
- Consistent LiVE ARM use will identify when a player is drifting down the injury path so they can be identified and rest/rehab or be evaluated more carefully by a trainer, therapist or physician. Pro pitchers are evaluated by trainers almost daily in season. LiVE ARM can help you identify issues before pain and larger problems develop.
“Pitching injuries are just random or inevitable”
- Not true, they are mostly overuse injuries. As such, they develop gradually overtime. Recent studies are proving that the injuries we are seeing at the professional level are developing silently, and can be seen on the MRI’s of healthy player’s before they reach professional baseball.
- Avoiding this damage in younger years will likely be the key to reducing the epidemic of arm injuries in baseball.
- LiVE ARM is safe and effective in monitoring shoulder fatigue in pitchers 13 and over.
- Pitching with fatigue is a major injury risk factor. It is expected that the structural damage seen on MRIs of healthy pre-professional players is due to micro trauma to the non-muscular soft tissue structures that occurs from playing despite muscle fatigue.
- Aging and loss of abilities might be inevitable, but injuries are not.