Evaluating Active, Passive, and Electromuscular Recovery Methods on Pitching Performance and Fatigue in High School Athletes

The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of three between-inning recovery methods [Active recovery (AR), passive recovery (PR), and electromuscular stimulation (EMS)] among high school pitchers.Four indicators were used to evaluate effectiveness: blood lactate (BLa) clearance, average pitcher velocity, perceived pitch intensity, and a subjective recovery rating.The study hypothesized that as pitchers progress through three innings of play, EMS is the most effective method for between-inning recovery.Four high school pitchers, aged 16, underwent three testing days, each separated by four days of rest.Testing days consisted of warm-ups, bullpen sessions, three innings pitched (15 per inning), and a post-inning protocol that included 6 minutes of recovery, measurements of blood lactate, and subjective effort ratings.A significant main effect of BLa clearance and recovery method across three innings pitched determined the most effective intervention.Post-hoc results confirmed that EMS and PR conditions outperformed the AR condition across all innings.The difference in clearance between AR with EMS was significant (p = 0.0048), closely followed by AR with PR (p = 0.0328), while PR with EMS was not significant (p = 0.609).These findings suggest that using EMS between innings optimizes BLa clearance, which may improve pitching performance and reduce the risk of arm injury in high school pitchers.