Baseball Injuries: A Little League Survey

Objectives. To determine the patterns of injury in youth baseball and apply the data to estimate the value of proposed safety equipment. Design. Prospective population-based injury survey. Participants. 2861 Little League baseball players (ages 7 to 18) for 140 932 player-hours. Measurements. An injury was included in the data only if it was serious enough to require medical/dental care, caused missing a game, or disallowed playing a certain position. The injuries were subdivided into acute or overuse. The acute injuries were classified as either catastrophic, severe, or minor. Injuries were categorized according to mechanism, area injured, and whether the player was on offense or defense. Results. There were 81 total injuries, of which 66 (81%) were acute and 15 (19%) were overuse. Of the acute injuries, 11 were severe and 55 were minor. The overall injury rate was .057 injuries per 100 player-hours. The severe injury rate was .008 injuries per 100 player-hours, of which 46% were ball-related injuries and 27% were collisions. The most frequent mechanism of injury was being hit by the ball, which represented 62% of the acute injuries. Of the 41 ball-related injuries, 28 (68%) occurred to players on defense. Of the 18 ball-related facial injuries, 16 occurred to players on defense. Conclusions. 1) Little League baseball is a safe activity with a low injury rate and a particularly low rate of severe injury; 2) impact by the ball causes more than half the acute injuries, thus safety interventions should be directed towards decreasing these injuries, especially on defense; 3) facemasks on batters can safely eliminate facial injuries to offensive players, but would only moderately reduce the incidence of ball-related facial injuries as most of these injuries are sustained by defensive players.

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Epidemiology of Injuries Sustained in Boys’ High School Contact and Collision Sports, 2008-2009 Through 2012-2013

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1177/2325967120903699 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 232596712090369

Author(s):

Erin Hammer ◽

M. Alison Brooks ◽

Scott Hetzel ◽

Alan Arakkal ◽

R. Dawn Comstock

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Sport Participation ◽

Injury Rate ◽

The United States ◽

Ice Hockey ◽

Severe Injury ◽

Football Players ◽

Body Site ◽

Time Loss ◽

Patterns Of Injury

Background: Injury epidemiology for boys’ high school contact and collision sport has been described in several overlapping but fragmented studies. Comprehensive comparisons of injuries sustained in boys’ soccer, wrestling, football, ice hockey, and lacrosse are lacking. Purpose: To describe patterns of injury by severity, body site, and diagnosis among high school boys’ contact and collision sports in the United States. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Injury rates and rate ratios (RRs) were calculated for injuries sustained in boys’ high school soccer, wrestling, football, ice hockey, and lacrosse through use of the High School RIO (Reporting Information Online) surveillance data from 2008-2009 through 2012-2013. Injury patterns were described by site, diagnosis, time loss, and severity. Severe injury was defined as an injury that resulted in 21 days or more of time loss from sport participation. Risk of sustaining a concussion was compared between sports. Results: The risk of sustaining an injury was higher in competition compared with practice overall (RR, 4.01; 95% CI, 3.90-4.12); the same pattern was true for severe injuries (RR, 4.61; 95% CI, 4.34-4.90). Football players experienced the highest injury rate (3.87 per 1000 athlete-exposures [AEs]) and the highest severe injury rate (0.80 per 1000 AEs). Overall, the most commonly injured body site was the head/face (22.5%), and the most prevalent injury diagnosis was ligament sprain not requiring surgery (23.5%). The most frequently injured body site from severe injury was the knee (24.6%), and fracture or avulsion was the most prevalent severe injury diagnosis (37.0%). Football players had a significantly higher risk of sustaining a concussion compared with other contact or collision sport athletes ( P < .05). Conclusion: Injuries rates were higher in competition than those in practice for boys’ high school contact and collision athletes. Football players sustained the highest injury rate, the highest severe injury rate, and the highest concussion rate among the sports included in this analysis. Understanding these patterns of injury can generate policy and rule changes to make sports safer and maintain high levels of participation.

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Current Workload Recommendations in Baseball Pitchers: A Systematic Review

The American Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1177/0363546519831010 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 229-241 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Neil K. Bakshi ◽

Paul M. Inclan ◽

Jacob M. Kirsch ◽

Asheesh Bedi ◽

Cristine Agresta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Injury Rate ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Professional Baseball ◽

High Quality Research ◽

Baseball Players ◽

Little League ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Baseball Pitchers

Background: Several recommendations have been made regarding pitch counts and workload for baseball players of different levels, including Little League, high school, collegiate, and professional baseball. However, little consensus is found in the literature regarding the scientific basis for many of these recommendations. Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to summarize the evidence regarding immediate and long-term musculoskeletal responses to increasing pitching workload in baseball pitchers of all levels. A secondary purpose of this review was to evaluate the extent to which workload influences injury and/or performance in baseball pitchers. Study Design: Systematic review. Methods: We performed a systematic search in accordance with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines for studies addressing physiologic and/or pathologic musculoskeletal changes in response to a quantifiable pitching workload. We included studies examining the effects of pitching workload on performance, injury rate, and musculoskeletal changes in Little League, high school, collegiate, and professional baseball players. Results: We identified 28 studies that met our inclusion and exclusion criteria: 16 studies regarding Little League and high school pitchers and 12 studies regarding collegiate and professional pitchers. The current evidence presented suggests that increased pitching workload may be associated with an increased risk of pain, injury, and arm fatigue in Little League and high school pitchers. However, little consensus was found in the literature regarding the association between pitching workload and physiologic or pathologic changes in collegiate and professional pitchers. Conclusion: Evidence, although limited, suggests the use of pitch counts to decrease injury rates and pain in Little League and high school baseball pitchers. However, further research must be performed to determine the appropriate number of pitches (or throws) for players of different ages. This systematic review reported conflicting evidence regarding the use of pitch counts in college and professional baseball. Future high-quality research is required to determine the role, if any, of pitch counts for collegiate and professional pitchers.

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Patterns and predictors of serious surf-related injuries in Hawaii

Trauma ◽

10.1177/1460408620983628 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 146040862098362

Author(s):

Ashley Marumoto ◽

Adam Guzman ◽

William B. Harris ◽

John Vossler ◽

Sidney Johnson

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Leisure Activity ◽

Severe Injury ◽

Spine Injury ◽

Inherent Risk ◽

Risk Of Injury ◽

Safety Interventions ◽

Associated Risk Factors ◽

Irreversible Injury

Introduction Surfing is a popular leisure activity with inherent risk of injury that many participants fail to mitigate. There is a paucity of literature reporting severe surf-related trauma and associated risk factors. Methods A retrospective observational study of registry data from Honolulu’s main trauma center assessing surf-related injuries and risk factors for severe injury was performed between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2018. Results Spine (35.1%), face (17.5%), and head (12.3%) injuries were the most common injuries identified in this cohort. A number of predictors for severe injury as well as serious spine injury were identified. Major risk factors for severe injury and serious spine injury included location of injury on Maui (Severe injury: OR 6.79, 95%CI 1.43–40.35, p = 0.0217; serious spine injury: OR 7.27, 95%CI 1.39–58.24, p = 0.0308) and being from one of the 48 contiguous states (severe injury: OR 3.33, 95%CI 1.10–10.98, p = 0.0388; serious spine injury: OR 2.95, 95%CI 1.08–8.46, p = 0.0379). Conclusion Understanding the nature of surf-related injuries and who is at risk can help to inform safety interventions that may prevent severe, sometimes irreversible injury. Efforts should be made to increase public awareness to the potential risk of surf-related activities.

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Epidemiology of 10,000 High School Football Injuries: Patterns of Injury by Position Played

Journal of Physical Activity and Health ◽

10.1123/jpah.10.2.160 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 160-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Marcus A. Badgeley ◽

Natalie M. McIlvain ◽

Ellen E. Yard ◽

Sarah K. Fields ◽

R. Dawn Comstock

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Athletic Trainers ◽

Injury Rate ◽

The United States ◽

Data Collection Tool ◽

High School Athletes ◽

High School Football ◽

Certified Athletic Trainers ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Patterns Of Injury

Background:With more than 1.1 million high school athletes playing annually during the 2005−06 to 2009−10 academic years, football is the most popular boys’ sport in the United States.Methods:Using an internet-based data collection tool, RIO, certified athletic trainers (ATs) from 100 nationally representative US high schools reported athletic exposure and football injury data during the 2005−06 to 2009−10 academic years.Results:Participating ATs reported 10,100 football injuries corresponding to an estimated 2,739,187 football-related injuries nationally. The injury rate was 4.08 per 1000 athlete-exposures (AEs) overall. Offensive lineman collectively (center, offensive guard, offensive tackle) sustained 18.3% of all injuries. Running backs (16.3%) sustained more injuries than any other position followed by linebackers (14.9%) and wide receivers (11.9%). The leading mechanism of injury was player-player contact (64.0%) followed by player-surface contact (13.4%). More specifically, injury occurred most commonly when players were being tackled (24.4%) and tackling (21.8%).Conclusions:Patterns of football injuries vary by position. Identifying such differences is important to drive development of evidence-based, targeted injury prevention efforts.

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Outcome of conservative treatment for Little League shoulder in young baseball players: factors related to incomplete return to baseball and recurrence of pain

Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery ◽

10.1016/j.jse.2017.08.018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mikio Harada ◽

Masatoshi Takahara ◽

Masahiro Maruyama ◽

Mikiro Kondo ◽

Tomohiro Uno ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Conservative Treatment ◽

Baseball Players ◽

Little League ◽

Little League Shoulder

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Incidence of Injuries in High School Softball and Baseball Players

Journal of Athletic Training ◽

10.4085/1062-6050-46.6.648 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 46 (6) ◽

pp. 648-654 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Ellen Shanley ◽

Mitchell J. Rauh ◽

Lori A. Michener ◽

Todd S. Ellenbecker

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

South Carolina ◽

High Schools ◽

Upper Extremity ◽

Injury Rate ◽

Baseball Players ◽

Injury Rates ◽

School Sports ◽

Initial Injury ◽

Subsequent Injury

Context: Participation in high school sports has grown 16.1% over the last decade, but few studies have compared the overall injury risks in girls' softball and boys' baseball. Objective: To examine the incidence of injury in high school softball and baseball players. Design: Cohort study. Setting: Greenville, South Carolina, high schools. Patients or Other Participants: Softball and baseball players (n = 247) from 11 high schools. Main Outcome Measure(s): Injury rates, locations, types; initial or subsequent injury; practice or game setting; positions played; seasonal trends. Results: The overall incidence injury rate was 4.5/1000 athlete-exposures (AEs), with more injuries overall in softball players (5.6/1000 AEs) than in baseball players (4.0/1000 AEs). Baseball players had a higher initial injury rate (75.9/1000 AEs) than softball players (66.4/1000 AEs): rate ratio (RR) = 0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.4, 1.7. The initial injury rate was higher than the subsequent injury rate for the overall sample (P < .0001) and for softball (P < .0001) and baseball (P < .001) players. For both sports, the injury rate during games (4.6/1000 AEs) was similar to that during practices (4.1/1000 AEs), RR = 1.22, 95% CI = 0.7, 2.2. Softball players were more likely to be injured in a game than were baseball players (RR = 1.92, 95% CI = 0.8, 4.3). Most injuries (77%) were mild (3.5/1000 AEs). The upper extremity accounted for the highest proportion of injuries (63.3%). The incidence of injury for pitchers was 37.3% and for position players was 15.3%. The rate of injury was highest during the first month of the season (7.96/1000 AEs). Conclusions: The incidence of injury was low for both softball and baseball. Most injuries were minor and affected the upper extremity. The injury rates were highest in the first month of the season, so prevention strategies should be focused on minimizing injuries and monitoring players early in the season.

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Internal- and External-Rotation Peak Torque in Little League Baseball Players With Subacromial Impingement Syndrome: Improved by Closed Kinetic Chain Shoulder Training

Journal of Sport Rehabilitation ◽

10.1123/jsr.2014-0333 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 263-265 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Dong-Rour Lee ◽

Laurentius Jongsoon Kim

Keyword(s):

Angular Velocity ◽

External Rotation ◽

Peak Torque ◽

Subacromial Impingement Syndrome ◽

Subacromial Impingement ◽

Kinetic Chain ◽

Baseball Players ◽

Little League ◽

Youth Baseball ◽

Closed Kinetic Chain

Context:Many studies have explored closed kinetic chain (CKC) shoulder exercises (SEs) with a sling because they are safer and more effective than open-chain exercises, especially in early stages of treatment. However, the application of CKC SE in youth baseball players has rarely been attempted, although teenage baseball players also experience shoulder pain.Objective:To investigate the effects of CKC SE on the peak torque of shoulder internal rotation (IR) and external rotation (ER) in youth baseball players.Design:Single-group pretest, posttest.Setting:Biomechanics laboratory.Participants:23 Little League Baseball players with subacromial impingement syndrome.Interventions:The CKC SE with a sling was CKC shoulder-flexion exercise, extension exercise, IR exercise, and ER exercise. This exercise regimen was conducted 2 or 3 times/wk for 8 wk.Main Outcome Measures:The peak torque of shoulder IR and ER was measured using an isokinetic dynamometer. Concentric shoulder rotation was performed, with 5 repetitions at an angular velocity of 60°/s and 15 at 180°/s.Results:The IR and ER peak torque significantly increased at each angular velocity after the exercise program. In particular, the increase in IR and ER peak torque values was statistically significant at an angular velocity of 180°/s.Conclusions:CKC SE was effective in increasing shoulder IR and ER strength, demonstrating its potential benefits in the prevention and treatment of shoulder injury. In addition, increased IR peak torque appears to improve throwing velocity in baseball players.

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Stand-up test could be a helpful adjunct for screening elbow disorders in Little League baseball players

Journal of Orthopaedic Science ◽

10.1016/j.jos.2021.11.019 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Satona Murakami ◽

Satoshi Takeuchi ◽

Hideki Okamoto ◽

Naoko Muramatsu ◽

Haruka Sakurai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Baseball Players ◽

Little League

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Analysis of Non-Game Injuries in Major League Baseball

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1177/2325967119888499 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (12) ◽

pp. 232596711988849

Author(s):

Amanda Esquivel ◽

Michael T. Freehill ◽

Frank C. Curriero ◽

Kevin L. Rand ◽

Stan Conte ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Recent Literature ◽

Major League Baseball ◽

Tracking System ◽

Injury Rate ◽

Primary Diagnosis ◽

Professional Baseball ◽

Baseball Players ◽

Minor League Baseball ◽

Minor League ◽

Major League

Background: Numerous studies have investigated injuries and treatments in the baseball athlete. The majority of these studies have focused on the throwing shoulder and elbow. However, more recent literature is reporting injuries to other regions in this cohort, including the knee, head, hip, and hamstring. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of the current study was to determine the number and type of injuries in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players that do not occur during the actual game but are related to baseball participation. Our hypothesis was that there would be a substantial number of injuries that occurred in professional baseball players during non-game situations. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiological study. Methods: Deidentified, anonymous data were collected from the 2011 through 2016 seasons from the MLB Health and Injury Tracking System (HITS) medical record database. All injuries that were identified as a primary diagnosis and resulted in at least 1 day out of play from both MLB and MiLB were examined. Injuries were categorized as occurring during the game (“game” injuries) or not during the game. A “non-game” injury was defined as occurring at any time other than during the scheduled game from the first to last pitch. Results: There were 51,548 total injuries in MLB and MiLB players from 2011 to 2016, almost 40% of which were attributed to non–game-related injuries (n = 19,201; 37.2%). The remainder occurred during a game (n = 32,347; 62.8%). A significantly greater percentage of non-game injuries were season ending (10.8%) compared with the percentage of game-related season-ending injuries (8.4%) ( P < .0001). Pitchers had significantly more non–game-related injuries than game-related injuries ( P < .0001). Conclusion: A large number of injuries occur in professional baseball outside of actual games. MiLB players, specifically pitchers, are particularly at risk for these types of injuries. It is feasible that the overall injury rate in professional baseball players could be reduced by analyzing these injuries in more detail to develop prevention strategies.

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