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Motor imagery ability in baseball players with throwing yips
Toshiyuki Aoyama1, Kazumichi Ae2, Hiroto Soma3
1Department of Physical Therapy, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Ami-Machi, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki-ken, Japan.
Plos One
|November 30, 2023
Summary
Athletes with yips, a condition impairing motor performance, do not show diminished general motor imagery ability. However, those with yips experience more vivid negative motor imagery related to throwing, suggesting a link to the condition.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Motor Control
- Psychology
Background:
- Motor imagery ability is linked to athletic performance.
- The impact of yips on motor imagery in baseball players is not well understood.
- Yips impair motor performance, but the underlying imagery mechanisms are unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if general motor imagery ability is diminished in baseball players with yips.
- To assess motor imagery vividness specific to throwing in baseball players with yips.
- To compare imagery abilities between players with yips, recovered players, and controls.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 114 college baseball players.
- Classification into yips, recovered, and control groups.
- Administration of the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire-2 (VMIQ-2) for general ability.
- Use of a specific questionnaire for positive and negative throwing imagery vividness.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in general motor imagery ability (VMIQ-2) were found across groups.
- Positive motor imagery vividness for throwing did not differ among groups.
- The yips group reported significantly higher vividness of negative motor imagery (wild throws) compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- General motor imagery ability is not impaired in baseball players with yips.
- Increased vividness of negative motor imagery specific to throwing is associated with yips.
- Interventions targeting psychological factors like anxiety may help alleviate yips symptoms.
