Low back and baseball

BACKGROUND: Many professional baseball players experience low back pain, a major cause of which is lumbar facet joint arthropathy. PURPOSE: To evaluate the relationship between the dominant hand side and facet joint morphology in baseball movement. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: Participants were 25 Japanese professional baseball players (11 pitchers and 14 fielders) with low back pain and lower limb symptoms...

INTRODUCTION: Management of spondylolysis in adolescents is generally successful with conservative management. Uncommonly, surgical fixation is necessary for refractory cases. Direct repair with intralaminar screws is one commonly utilized technique. Recently, less invasive spinal procedures are becoming viable with the enabling of technologies, including robotics. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 14-year-old baseball player and surfer presented with low back pain, diagnosed by MRI as bony edema and stress fractures of the posterior spinal elements...

BACKGROUND: Lumbar spondylolysis (LS) is a lumbar vertebral arch stress fracture that often occurs in adolescent athletes, especially baseball players. An increase in lumbar lordosis angle (LLA) increases the compressive stress on the vertebral arch, influencing the development of LS. However, the effect of LLA on LS development in adolescent baseball players is unknown. Therefore, it is necessary to elucidate the risk factors that influence the development of LS. This cross-sectional study aimed investigate the effect of LLA on LS development in adolescent baseball players...

STUDY DESIGN: This was a narrative review. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to report the physical and radiologic characteristics of sacral stress fractures in 11 athletes and to review the current literature on sacral stress fractures. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Sacral stress fractures are rarely reported as a cause of low back pain in athletes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 11 athlete patients with sacral stress fractures and low back pain...

BACKGROUND: Lumbar spondylolysis, a common identifiable cause of low back pain in young athletes, reportedly has a higher incidence rate in males. However, the reason for its higher incidence in males is not clear. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological differences between the sexes in adolescent patients with lumbar spondylolysis. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in 197 males and 64 females diagnosed with lumbar spondylolysis. These patients visited our institution from April 2014 to March 2020 with their main complaint being low back pain, and they were followed-up until the end of their treatment...

Although the odds are extremely low, some baseball players are fortunate to make it to the professional ranks (minor or major league), where suffering an injury is common. During the 2011 to 2019 seasons, 112,405 injuries were reported in the Major League Baseball Health and Injury Tracking System database. Compared with other professional sports, baseball players have lower rates of returning to play, take longer to return to play, and have shorter careers after shoulder arthroscopy. By understanding injury epidemiology, the treating physician will gain player trust and understand the prognosis and how to properly return the player safely back to the field and best prolong their career...

BACKGROUND: Age-related differences in the limited range of motion of the lower extremities and their relationship with low back pain in juvenile athletes have not been well assessed. This study investigated the relationship between low back pain and limited range of motion of the hip and knee in young baseball players during the baseball season. RESULTS: Participants comprised 1215 baseball players (216 pitchers, 999 fielders) aged 6-16 years who underwent medical checkups (self-completed questionnaire and physical examination)...

BACKGROUND: Low back pain can affect musculoskeletal problems of the upper limb in adolescent overhead athletes. However, few epidemiological studies have examined this causal relationship. This prospective cohort study aimed to investigate the relationship between baseline low back pain experience and the occurrence of future shoulder and elbow pain among high school baseball players. METHODS: Participants comprised 383 high school baseball players from 43 high school baseball teams who had undergone baseline medical evaluations (a self-completed questionnaire and physical examination)...

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective case series study. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the epidemiology and burden of diagnoses of lumbar spinal conditions affecting Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball players. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Lumbar spinal conditions are a common cause of low back pain in the general population and can be caused by participation in sports and athletics. Data concerning the epidemiology of these injuries in professional baseball players are limited...

The changes in lumbar lordosis angle (LL) and sacral slope angle (SS) related to upper limb elevation and thoracic kyphosis angle (TK) in baseball players with spondylolysis remain unclear. Herein, we investigated baseball players with spondylolysis and those without low back pain, comparing LL and SS with upper limb elevation within and between groups and TK between groups. Baseball players with spondylolysis were enrolled as subjects, and baseball players without low back pain were enrolled as controls (n = 8 each)...

The prevalence of chronic lower back pain (CLBP) among baseball players is high. CLBP is associated with reduced participation in practice and games. This pilot study examined the factors associated with CLBP among high school baseball players in Fukui, Japan. The participants underwent two health examinations in high school: (1) as first-grade baseball players (baseline) and (2) as second-grade baseball players (follow-up); a total of 59 players who could be followed-up a year later were included in the study...

BACKGROUND: Many adolescent athletes experience low back pain; the most common cause is lumbar spondylolysis. Although early identification of lumbar spondylolysis in adolescent athletes is critical, few studies have focused on identifying the early stages of spondylolysis in baseball players. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of early-stage spondylolysis in male adolescent baseball players. METHODS: The participants comprised male junior and high school baseball players...

BACKGROUND: Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Asia. It is known that baseball can easily lead to back pain. However, there has been no survey of low back pain (LBP) and lumbar disc degeneration in Japanese professional baseball players to date. PURPOSE: To investigate the cause of LBP and lumbar degeneration in professional Japanese baseball players. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of Japanese professional baseball players with LBP who visited our hospital...

PURPOSE: While the performance metric ball velocity has often been associated with increased kinetics at the upper extremity and risk of injury in youth and adolescent pitchers, it is unclear if the performance metric pitch location consistency has any positive/negative associations with pitching kinetics. METHODS: High school pitchers(n=59) pitched 8-12 fastballs using 3D motion-capture(480 Hz). Pitchers were divided into high consistency(HiCon) and low consistency(LoCon) groups based on the absolute center deviation of each pitcher's pitch to the center of the pitchers mean pitch location...

Background: Musculoskeletal pain could represent a psychological stressor in adolescent athletes. However, few epidemiological studies have investigated this association. Purpose: To assess the relationship between musculoskeletal pain (shoulder, elbow, wrist, and low back) and psychological stress responses in high school baseball players. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Participants comprised male Japanese high school baseball players who had completed a questionnaire as part of their annual medical evaluation in 2016...

BACKGROUND: Reduced core stability is a potential risk factor for low back pain in athletes. However, the association between core stability and low back pain in high school baseball players has not been thoroughly studied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between core stability and low back pain and its clinical characteristics in high school baseball players. METHODS: Participants comprised 812 high school baseball players who had undergone annual medical evaluations, comprising a self-completed questionnaire and a physical examination...

Esports is an electronic sport known as competitive video gaming, which has seen tremendous growth over the past few years. Unlike traditional sports such as hockey, baseball, and soccer, Esports is an interconnection of multiple platforms, computing, gaming, and media into a sport event. A systematic review was conducted to collate and review all the research studies concerning Esports from a health perspective and analyze various physical and psychological distress regarding Esports. Relevant published papers were identified through the electronic databases Google Scholar, PubMed, and Research Gate...

Pitching 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. The participants completed a self-recorded daily questionnaire regarding the presence of low back pain...

Psychological pressure during sports competition disturbs the ideal physical movement and causes injury. Baseball batting frequently causes trunk injuries. This study aimed to examine the influence of psychological pressure on the lumbar kinematics and trunk muscle activity during the baseball batting. Fourteen collegiate baseball players participated in this study. The participants performed bat swings under three different psychological conditions (non-pressure, pressure, and emphasized pressure). The lumbar kinematics and trunk muscle activity were measured during each bat swing...

BACKGROUND: Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) dysfunction is a potential source of low back pain (LBP) in baseball players, who are more likely to be affected by loading of the SIJ in the throwing motion. However, the prevalence and characteristics of this condition have not been studied thoroughly. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of SIJ dysfunction among high school baseball players. METHODS: Participants comprised 891 high school baseball players who had undergone annual medical evaluations (a self-completed questionnaire and physical examination)...