Preventive interventions for throwing injuries in baseball players: a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Biomechanics
• Injury Prevention

Background:

• Baseball players frequently experience shoulder and elbow pain from throwing injuries.
• Existing research on preventive strategies like stretching and strengthening is available, but reviews summarizing these interventions are limited.
• This scoping review addresses the need for a comprehensive summary of preventive interventions for baseball throwing injuries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review summarizing the existing literature on preventive interventions for throwing injuries in baseball players.
• To identify and evaluate the effectiveness of various preventive strategies reported in published studies.

Main Methods:

• Searched Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, and Scopus databases.
• Two independent reviewers screened studies for eligibility.
• Extracted data on preventive interventions, effectiveness, and participant characteristics, adhering to PRISMA-ScR guidelines.

Main Results:

• Four studies met eligibility criteria: two randomized controlled trials and two prospective cohort studies.
• Eligible studies focused on youth to high school players, targeting upper extremity throwing injuries.
• Preventive programs included sleeper stretching, external rotation strengthening, and comprehensive programs; all showed potential to reduce injury incidence, with high compliance correlating to lower risk.

Conclusions:

• Studies confirm the existence of preventive interventions for baseball throwing injuries.
• Sleeper stretching, external rotation strengthening, and comprehensive programs are identified as potentially effective interventions.
• Variations in participant characteristics and injury definitions necessitate further research to tailor prevention strategies by age, sport level, and position.