Estimating Risk of Injury in Throwing Athletes

Injuries to the elbow and shoulder in baseball players are commonly seen. Amongst these, injuries to the ulnar collateral ligament are increasing (1). A study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine looked to see if they could better identify risk of injury in throwers (1). Historically, counting pitches is one of the ways we try to control injuries in throwers. However, in this study, Dr. Zaremski et. al. created a formula that tried to better estimate workload in a thrower. They calculated the intensity of a throw by dividing a thrower’s maximum velocity by their average on a given start. They then multiplied this number by the number of pitches thrown in the bullpen, in between innings, and during a game (1).

The study ran for four years and included 71 pitchers (1). They found that there was a statistically significant risk for injury in throwers who threw harder, threw with more intensity, and who were older in age (1). The pitchers who were injured in the study were also found to have a 3.6% higher workload, but this was not statistically significant (1).

Overall, this is a novel way to estimate risk in a throwing athlete. This study reaffirms some of what we already know that an increase in thrower’s velocity puts them at risk for injury. Our challenge remains how to lower the risk of injury in throwers who pitch with a high velocity.

References

1)      Zaremski, Jason L., et al. “Workload Risk Factors for Pitching-Related Injuries in High School Baseball Pitchers.” The American Journal of Sports Medicine, vol. 52, no. 7, June 2024, pp. 1685–91. PubMed, https://doi.org/10.1177/03635465241246559.