Scissors

[GarthB]

From my notes from the Desert Classic:

Injuries due to the scissors stance at the Major League level have become so predictable, expensive and, in the view of the insurance carriers, preventable, that they no longer will cover them. Most "scissor" umpires have switched and no MiLB umpires below AAA are allowed to use the stance. The few who have been "grandfathered" are still urged to change..

[kylejt]

I, too, had knee problems working the box. That is until my son corrected my stance just a hair. He had me point my inside toes (right foot, for right handers) toward second, instead of straight ahead. It's made all the difference in the world.

[waltjp]

Originally Posted by GarthB

Injuries due to the scissors stance ....

Garth, could you expand on this? What type of injuries?

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by waltjp

Garth, could you expand on this? What type of injuries?

As Tee has described a couple of times before, Jim demonstrates the issue by holding a tennis ball at arm's length. Then poses the question: Imagine the strain if instead of a tennis ball he was holding an 10 pound bowling ball at full arm's length. (The human head averages 4.5 to 5.0 kg)

This kind of pressure in the scissors position, where the body does not line up beneath and support the weight of the head can result in anything from muscle strain, to pinched nerves, to damage to the cervical vertebrae.

I'm not a medico of anykind, but my physical therapist explained to me that not only can this position lead to injuries in the obvious area of the neck, but because the body attempts to compensate for such awkward weight bearing, it can also cause injury in the lower, lumbar region of the back and even in the hips.

According to Jim, this has ocurred with some frequency in MLB tp practitioners of the scissors stance.