Jonathan Hewitt wrote the following 2 responses to yesterday’s post ( My response is in bold):
Please correct me if I’m wrong (and I often am) but I think I heard you say one time that you have your volleyball players and throwers throw with their non-dominant hand. Why is this? Perhaps I heard this somewhere else, Not Sure.
Throwing with non-dominant arm has nothing to do with symmetry, I do that for the cross transfer effect, essentially improve coordination.
Well actually I really like throwing with the non-dominant arm because we are primarily one sided. When we do ballistic activities with the dominant arm, the training effect on the inhibitory mechanisms on one side of the numerous vertebrae of the spine could predispose us to a structural change such as permanent rotation of the spine or overdeveloped (and tight) muscles on one side of the spine. Scoliosis is found to be greater in populations of tennis players, javelin throwers and swimmers. One of the remedies I use for tightness in back muscles from golf is to swing the opposite direction (although without trying to hit a ball – for safety). I think throwing with the non-dominant side can help avoid injury and improve the integrity of the muscle spindles that exist in large amounts on either side of the spine.
