Common Hand Injuries in the Baseball Player

The list of potential hand and wrist injuries among baseball players is numerous and includes fractures, dislocations, strains, and sprains. The purpose of this review, however, is to highlight injuries to the hand and wrist which are either particularly common or unique to professional baseball players with an emphasis on diagnostic pearls and treatment principles.

For many baseball-related hand and wrist injuries, descriptions of the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment options are based on single institution case series. With the implementation of Major League Baseball's Health and Injury Tracking System, our understanding of the epidemiology of these injuries in professional baseball players has greatly improved. The most common injury requiring operative treatment is a hook of hamate fracture, and recent evidence increasingly supports fracture fragment excision for early pain-free return to sport. Fractures of the proximal phalanges of fingers, thumb phalangeal fractures, and UCL injuries are the most common indication for surgery of the digits. A4 pulley ruptures in pitchers and repetitive trauma to the vasculature of the palm and digits are relatively unique to professional baseball players and are frequently able to be managed non-operatively. While injuries to the hand and wrist are common, the median number of days missed due to such an injury was only 4 days among professional baseball players. Statements and Declarations" for inclusion in the published paper. Please note that submissions that do not include relevant declarations will be returned as incomplete.