Publications by authors named "Hitoshi Shitara"

Background: Left-handed baseball pitchers exhibit unique throwing biomechanics, yet the risk factors for shoulder and elbow injuries in this population remain unclear.

Purpose: To prospectively investigate preseason risk factors for shoulder and elbow injuries in left-handed high school baseball pitchers.

Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Differences in shoulder range of motion (ROM), shoulder muscle strength, and humeral torsion between left- and right-handed high school baseball pitchers remain poorly characterized.

Hypothesis: Similar differences in shoulder ROM, strength, and humeral torsion between right-handed pitchers (RHPs) and left-handed pitchers (LHPs) observed in professionals will also be present in high school pitchers, with potential variations due to developmental stages.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction Ulnar nerve instability (UNI) is a common cause of ulnar neuropathy. The relationship between UNI and medial elbow instability has not yet been investigated in baseball pitchers. We investigated the association between UNI and the degree of ulnar collateral ligamentous laxity in high school baseball pitchers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

: The repetitive overhead throwing of baseball stresses the posterior shoulder, including the rotator cuff and capsule, causing stiffness, tissue thickening, and dysfunction. Previous studies on collegiate baseball players have linked these changes to glenohumeral internal rotation deficits, pain, and injuries. However, these studies primarily used acoustic radiation force impulse-based shear wave elastography (SWE), which has limitations, including tissue heating and lack of portability.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

: Non-invasive evaluations of muscle elasticity and tone are crucial in musculoskeletal medicine. Shear wave elastography (SWE) provides quantitative assessments of muscle elasticity, whereas train-of-four (TOF) monitoring measures muscle tone during neuromuscular blockades. This study investigated the relationship between muscle elasticity and tone during anesthesia induction using continuous SWE (C-SWE) and TOF monitoring.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is used to evaluate fundamental movement patterns in patients. It is unknown whether the FMS can be used as a predictive tool for the occurrence of pitching injuries in baseball players.

Purpose: To prospectively investigate the relationship between shoulder and elbow injuries and individual components of the FMS during the preseason in high school baseball pitchers and determine which components of the FMS can be used as screening tools to predict shoulder and elbow injuries.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: A rotator cuff retear following arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) is a concern in older patients. However, only a few of its risk factors are amenable to preoperative intervention. We aimed to elucidate the relationship between preoperative nutritional status and rotator cuff retears after ARCR.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Continuous shear wave elastography (C-SWE) can be expected to be applied to portable muscle elasticity diagnosis. To establish diagnostic technology, it will be necessary to improve measurement techniques and quantitative measurement accuracy.

Methods: In this study, we investigated two screen scores: the quality index (Q-index), which determines whether the intensity of a power Doppler image is appropriate, and the shear wave propagation direction index (SWDI), which determines the uniformity of shear wave propagation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Total elbow arthroplasty is effective for pain relief and the functional improvement of severe symptomatic hemophilic osteoproliferative arthropathy. Nevertheless, high complication rates have been reported. This report describes clinical results obtained at 30-month follow-up of total elbow arthroplasty in a hemophilic patient with severe flexion contracture.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Accurate identification of neuropathic pain is necessary for appropriate treatment; however, the relationship between nontraumatic shoulder disorders and neuropathic pain remains unknown. Therefore, this retrospective observational study aimed to investigate the relationship, features, background factors, and prevalence of neuropathic pain among patients with nontraumatic shoulder disorders.

Methods: We evaluated 198 patients who visited our outpatient clinic, which specializes in shoulder disorders, from April 2015 to March 2016.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Current treatments for frozen shoulder lack a standard-of-care approach, and while some cases heal on their own, symptoms can persist and affect quality of life.
  • A study was conducted with 22 patients who underwent arthroscopic capsular release (ACR), comparing a steroid injection (triamcinolone acetonide) group with a surgery-only group to evaluate functional recovery over six months.
  • Results showed that the steroid group had significantly better improvements in shoulder abduction range of motion and experienced less night pain compared to the surgery-only group, suggesting that postoperative steroid treatment may enhance recovery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD) and weakness in prone external rotation are risk factors for shoulder and elbow injuries in high school baseball pitchers. While a shoulder-stretching prevention program to improve GIRD decreases the injury rate, the effects of external rotation strength remain unclear. This non-inferiority (NI) study investigates the hypothesis that external rotation strength training is not inferior to sleeper stretching for shoulder and elbow injury prevention in high school baseball pitchers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We experienced a case of humeral head impression fracture accounting for approximately 20% of the anterior articular surface. Open reduction and internal fixation of the proximal humeral fracture combined with arthroscope-assisted reduction and internal fixation of the humeral head impression fracture were performed, and good clinical and radiographic outcomes were obtained. Untreated impression fracture may be a potential risk for subluxation or osteoarthritis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Functional integration between two hemispheres is crucial for perceptual binding to occur when visual stimuli are presented in the midline of the visual field. Mima and colleagues (2001) showed using EEG that midline object recognition was associated with task-related decrease in alpha band power (alpha desynchronisation) and a transient increase in interhemispheric coherence. Our objective in the current study was to replicate the results of Mima et al.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hypothesis And/or Background: The relationship between shoulder osteoarthritis (OA) and rotator cuff tear (RCT) is unclear. We hypothesized that there is a difference between the pathogenesis of OA complicating RCT and that of RCT complicating OA. In this study, our primary objective was to determine the prevalence of shoulder OA without RCT, RCT without OA, and OA with RCT in the general older population.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Earlier reports have described forearm flexor muscles as active stabilizers of the elbow to valgus stress during throwing motion. The pronator quadratus (PQ) muscle acts in coordination with the pronator teres muscle for forearm pronation. This study of high school pitchers was conducted to assess the association between sonographic appearance and a history of elbow symptoms.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hypothesis And Background: The relationship between baseball pitchers' satisfaction with their performance and the incidence of shoulder and elbow injuries is unclear. We hypothesized that self-evaluated satisfaction with pitching performance before an injury and incidence of shoulder and elbow injuries are related.

Methods: Baseline data on baseball experience, height, weight, elbow and shoulder range of motion, and shoulder muscle strength of high-school baseball pitchers were collected.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: This study was designed to investigate whether psychological status is associated with upper-extremity health status in an elderly general population.

Methods: Using Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand of the Japanese Society for Surgery of the Hand (QuickDASH-JSSH), we evaluated 200 Japanese elderly people (76 men, 124 women; mean age, 71.6 years, 60-98 years) to assess their upper-extremity-specific health status.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) commonly affects young athletes, especially those engaging in repetitive overhead sports like baseball, with conservative treatment showing promise for spontaneous healing if the growth plates are still open.
  • A case study of a 12-year-old male baseball player revealed OCD of the humeral capitellum, and after a diagnosis via ultrasonography, he was advised to avoid heavy elbow use and began conservative treatment.
  • After 12 months of physiotherapy focusing on flexibility and core strength, the OCD lesion healed completely, suggesting conservative measures may be effective even with closed epiphyseal lines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of reciprocal inhibition for posterior shoulder tightness (PST), internal rotation at 90° abduction (ABIR) limitation, and subacromial impingement in elementary and junior high school baseball players.

Methods: The present study included 290 elementary school and junior high school baseball players who were members of an organized baseball team and attended a medical checkup in 2014. Seventeen participants were excluded because they were left-handed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Throwing-related shoulder and elbow pain continues to be reported among adolescent baseball players. Few prospective studies have specifically examined the association between throwing-related shoulder and elbow pain and physical and developmental changes.

Purpose: To evaluate the changes in physical and developmental characteristics during 1 year with respect to throwing-related shoulder and elbow pain in adolescent baseball players.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Proprioceptive feedback is crucial for motor control and stabilization of the shoulder joint in everyday life and sports. Shoulder dislocation causes anatomical and proprioceptive feedback damage that contributes to subsequent dislocations. Previous recurrent anterior shoulder instability (RSI) studies did not investigate functional neuroplasticity related to proprioception of the injured shoulder.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aim of this study was to test whether or not the threshold to the detection of passive motion (TTDPM) and passive joint position sense on the affected shoulder of patients with rotator cuff tear (RCT) was impaired compared to those on the unaffected side and to investigate the relationship between the tear size and changes in the TTDPM and passive joint position sense induced by RCT. This study included 21 patients with unilateral RCT before arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. To investigate proprioception in this study, we measured the TTDPM and passive joint position sense in abduction and external rotation using an isokinetic dynamometer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF