Orthop J Sports Med
July 2025
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.
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.
Case: A 79-year-old male barber with an acromioclavicular joint ganglion cyst and cuff tear arthropathy developed a large mass in his right shoulder. He refused surgery. Repeated punctures of the cyst and the injection of hyaluronic acid into the shoulder joint several times gradually reduced the cyst volume, and eventually, the cyst disappeared completely, with no recurrence for over 4 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction 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 PDFJ Bone Joint Surg Am
November 2024
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 PDFAnesthesiol Res Pract
September 2023
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.
Bilateral shoulder joint disorders caused by rheumatoid arthritis significantly impair daily functioning owing to a lack of contralateral compensation. In Japan, reverse shoulder joint prostheses were approved in 2014. This was expected to improve the surgical outcomes of rheumatoid shoulder arthroplasty.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The management of pain in patients with rotator cuff tears can be challenging. Neuropathic pain is reportedly associated with pain occurrence in musculoskeletal diseases. However, to date, few studies have reported on the prevalence of neuropathic pain in patients with rotator cuff tears or identified the factors associated with neuropathic pain in a multicenter study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
December 2022
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 PDFJ Shoulder Elbow Surg
December 2022
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 PDFPurpose: 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 PDFHypothesis 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.
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.
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.
Med Sci Sports Exerc
January 2022
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 PDFBackground: Shoulder and elbow injuries are the main cause of throwing disability among high school baseball pitchers. However, longitudinal studies on shoulder and elbow injuries among competitive-level high school baseball pitchers have been insufficient. This study aimed to investigate shoulder and elbow injuries in competitive-level high school baseball pitchers over a four-year period and elucidate the effects of implementing medical checkups on the incidence of shoulder and elbow injuries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAsymptomatic elbow abnormalities are relatively common in young baseball players, but the factors responsible are unclear. To prospectively identify risk factors related to symptom manifestation in asymptomatic elbow abnormalities, we recruited 573 baseball players (age: 7-14 years) at a pre-participation medical/physical examination in the preseason who were right-handed and had asymptomatic medial elbow abnormalities on ultrasound (US). Baseline preseason and postseason participant characteristics were assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Dynamic balance is essential for pitching motion because pitching kinematics requires whole body coordination. The Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) and the Y balance test (YBT) evaluate dynamic balance quantitatively. There are some reports that investigated the relationship between SEBT/YBT and pain in upper and lower extremities, but there is no study among high school baseball pitchers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPitching motion requires whole-body coordination; therefore, poor control of the lower extremities, pelvis and trunk may cause shoulder and elbow injuries. However, few studies have described the relationship between the shoulder joint function and low back injury in high-school baseball pitchers. A total of 128 healthy high school pitchers underwent pre-season medical checkups, where their shoulder range of motion and shoulder strength were measured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Youth baseball players who experience elbow pain during the season frequently exhibit radiographic elbow abnormalities. However, it is unknown whether asymptomatic elbow abnormalities are risk factors for in-season elbow injuries.
Purpose: To determine whether the preseason presence of asymptomatic medial epicondyle apophysitis is a risk factor for in-season elbow injuries in youth baseball players.
J Orthop Surg (Hong Kong)
July 2021
We aimed to examine the relationship between hip range of motion (ROM) and abduction strength and throwing-related shoulder/elbow injuries in high school baseball pitchers. The study included 135 baseball pitchers. We asked them to fill out a questionnaire at the checkups, that included the dominant arm and the years of baseball experience.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe relationship between ankle joint function and throwing-related injuries has not been demonstrated. We hypothesized that limited ankle joint range of motion (ROM) was related to risk factors for shoulder and elbow injuries in young baseball players. This 12-month prospective cohort study evaluated the age, height, weight, playing position, shoulder, elbow, and ankle function of 228 enrolled baseball players.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: We aimed to examine the relationship between the hip range of motion (ROM) and ankle ROM and throwing-related shoulder and elbow injuries in elementary school baseball pitchers.
Methods: This retrospective comparative study (Level of evidence: Level III) included 195 baseball pitchers (mean age 10.8±1.
Background: Shoulder and elbow injuries are major problems in baseball players. Tightness of the upper extremities has been reported as a risk factor for shoulder and elbow injuries in elementary and junior high school baseball players. However, few studies have been conducted on the relationship between decreased hip range of motion (ROM) and shoulder and elbow injuries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Shoulder Elbow Surg
September 2021
Hypothesis: We aimed to investigate the contributions of grip, pronation, and pinch to stabilization of the medial elbow joint space; examine their relationship with muscle strength; and assess the effect of stabilization on the medial elbow joint space in baseball pitchers.
Methods: In this controlled laboratory study, we measured the medial elbow joint space using ultrasound during the following conditions: unloading; loading; and loading with grip, pronation, and pinch. To evaluate changes in the medial elbow joint space as a result of various conditions, 1-way repeated-measures analysis of variance and post hoc analysis for multiple comparisons were performed.