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 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 piece

Link to NanoNeedle Athletic piece

Link to Ben on protecting pitchers

Link to Ben on pitcher roster limits

Link to McGregor/ElAttrache article

Link to MLB/ElAttrache article

Link to article on Altuve’s return

Link to article on Alvarez’s return

Link to internal brace info

Link to article on Tatum’s return

Link to article on Mahomes’s return

Link to article on Kittle’s return

Link to summary of Cedric’s research

Link to Cedric’s research paper

Link to other research on lower arm slots

Link to pulldowns explainer

Link to Ben on team secrets

Link to Rieekan quote

Link to lower-arm-slots trend

Link to video clip about the trend

Link to Crizer on arm slots

Link to Misiorowski game

Link to FlexProGrip site

Link to FlexProGrip article 1

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Link to FlexProGrip article 4

Link to FlexProGrip white papers

Link to Driveline research

Link to The Layback Podcast

Link to The Island of Doctor Moreau

Link to Edward Scissorhands

Link to Helmet Lab concussions research

Link to helmet ratings site

Link to Rowson’s faculty page

Link to CNN Helmet Lab story

Link to Ben on catcher concussions

Link to Carlin baseball vs. football bit

Link to risk compensation wiki

Link to Helmet Lab testing footage

Link to Marvin the Martian wiki

Link to Great Gazoo wiki

Link to Dark Helmet wiki

Link to Torres protective cap article 1

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Link to Torres cap footage

Link to pitcher cap inserts info 1

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Link to pitcher cap inserts info 3

Link to softball pitcher mask article

Link to softball fielder mask article

Link to softball fielder mask research

Link to The Athletic on catcher nut shots

Link to SIS on catcher nut shots

Link to Knoxville incident

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