Researchers identify risk for shoulder injuries in pitchers with persistent scapulohumeral rhythm deterioration

Using a 3-D motion-detection system, researchers measured whether baseball pitchers were at risk for shoulder injuries, according to a recent study published in Musculoskeletal Surgery.

“Shoulder injuries are a serious problem in young pitchers,” Pietro M. Tonino, MD, study author and sports medicine surgeon from Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill., told Orthopedics Today. “Results of our study indicate that using this portable 3-D motion-detection system could be an effective way to help detect and possibly prevent these injuries.”

Tonino and colleagues measured scapulohumeral rhythm (SHR) in the pitches of 13 college baseball players using the Xbus Kit (Xsens Technologies B.V.; The Netherlands), according to the abstract. They studied forward elevation and abduction before throwing, after 60 pitches and 24 hours after a pitching session.

Pietro M. Tonino

The researchers found SHR changes in 11 athletes and no changes in two athletes, according to the abstract. They also divided the pitchers into four categories based on their changes to pitching response: five pitchers showed deterioration in SHR after pitching but restored rhythm at 24 hours; three pitchers showed SHR deterioration after pitching and mostly restored rhythm at 24 hours; an additional three pitchers had deterioration after pitching which persisted after 24 hours. Tonino and colleagues noted the group that showed SHR deterioration even after 24 hours’ rest was most at risk for shoulder injuries.

Reference:

Pellegrini A. Musculoskelet Surg. 2013;doi:10.1007/s12306-013-0253-4.

Disclosure: Tonino receives stock options from Regeneration Technologies Inc. and is a board member for the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and the Arthroscopy Association of North America.