(Note: This story was published in the Chicago Tribune April 14, 2015, and recently won a MORE award from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.)

By John Carpenter

Two Northwestern University biomedical engineers have taken a new approach to one of the most confounding injuries in professional sports, using digital tools to study the way baseball pitchers, especially hard-throwing big-leaguers, keep destroying their elbows.

Researchers James Buffi and Wendy Murray in a recent study used digital modeling to simulate the effect of varying levels of muscle strength on the elbow joint during the pitching motion. They concluded that muscle strength is more important than previously thought, and they suggested that more study of elbow muscles should supplement traditional emphasis on rest and biomechanics.

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