Weekly Article
Let’s go back to an old school article by Loosli, et al. (1992) Injuries to pitchers in women’s collegiate fast-pitch softball. The researchers studied 170 female softball players from 16 college teams over five seasons. They recorded all injuries that happened during practices and games, focusing on pitchers. They noted the type of injury, body part affected, how the injury happened, and how many days the athlete missed because of it. They compared how often pitchers got injured compared to players in other positions. They found:
- Pitchers had more injuries than players in other positions.
- Most injuries were to the shoulder and arm.
- The majority of injuries were from overuse, not from a single traumatic event.
- Pitchers had a higher injury rate per athlete-exposure (meaning per practice/game) than non-pitchers.
- Although most injuries were not serious, they still caused players to miss time.
- No season-ending or surgery-requiring injuries were reported, but the frequency of minor injuries highlighted a need for better injury prevention.
Implications: The researchers explained that pitchers in women’s collegiate fast-pitch softball are more likely to get injured than other players, mostly from using their arms and shoulders too much. Even though fast-pitch softball uses an underhand throwing motion (which many people think is safer), it can still lead to injuries when pitchers throw a lot without enough rest. Most of the injuries weren’t severe, but they still caused players to miss time. Because of this, the authors said it’s important for coaches and trainers to create better training and recovery plans to keep pitchers healthy. They also suggested more research is needed to understand how to prevent overuse injuries in softball pitchers.
More…
I wanted to share a great podcast that I heard on catcher framing on the Patrick Jones Baseball podcast. It’s very nerdy and in-depth, but they brought up some incredible points. Check out the podcast called How catcher framing impacts winning in college baseball with Dr. Adam Maloof.
