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Resting Heart Rate Variability Among Professional Baseball Starting Pitchers
David J Cornell1, Jeffrey L Paxson, Roger A Caplinger
11Human Performance & Sport Physiology Laboratory, Integrative Health Care & Performance Unit, Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and 2Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
|July 6, 2016
Summary
Professional baseball pitchers show reduced resting heart rate variability (HRV) on day 2 after pitching. This suggests altered autonomic nervous system function, indicating a need for individualized athlete monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Sports Medicine
- Exercise Physiology
- Cardiovascular Physiology
Background:
- Heart rate variability (HRV) is a key indicator of autonomic nervous system (ANS) function.
- Monitoring HRV can help assess athlete recovery and training load in professional sports.
- Pitching demands in baseball can significantly impact physiological recovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate changes in resting heart rate variability (HRV) among professional baseball starting pitchers.
- To analyze HRV patterns across a typical 5-day pitching rotation schedule.
- To understand the impact of pitching on pitcher's autonomic nervous system function.
Main Methods:
- Collected daily resting HRV data from 8 Single-A professional baseball starting pitchers over a season.
- Measured HRV via the natural log of the square root of the mean sum of the squared differences (lnRMSSD) during a 10-minute supine rest.
- Employed a split-plot repeated-measures analysis of variance to assess rotation day effects on lnRMSSD.
Main Results:
- A statistically significant main effect of pitching rotation day on resting lnRMSSD was found (p = 0.029).
- Resting lnRMSSD was significantly lower on day 2 post-pitching compared to all other rotation days (p ≤ 0.05).
- Significant individual differences in season-average resting lnRMSSD were observed among pitchers (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
- Professional baseball starting pitchers exhibit altered ANS function one day after pitching, evidenced by reduced resting HRV.
- Day 2 post-start shows significantly lower resting HRV, suggesting a critical recovery period.
- Individual variability in HRV highlights the importance of single-subject analysis for monitoring cumulative workload in pitchers.
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