Major League Pitchers Plagued by Two Types of Injuries

Doctors can expect to see a host of core and hip/groin injuries among Major League Baseball pitchers.

Moreover, these common injuries carry a high risk of re-injury, according to a new study.

“Not only are these injuries becoming more prevalent among professional baseball pitchers, but we are also seeing a relatively high rate of re-injury as well,” said senior study author Dr. Eric Makhni. He’s a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon with Henry Ford Health System in Detroit.

“Pitchers with these injuries require an extra 10 days on the disabled list when compared with position players,” Makhni added in a Ford news release.

Researchers analyzed data from 330 pitchers who were placed on the disabled list in the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Core and hip/groin injuries accounted for more than one in five of the injuries. On average, these injured pitchers spent 47 days on the disabled list with a core injury, and 38 days for a hip/groin injury.

Core injuries included back spasm, stiffness or strain. Hip/groin injuries included groin strain or hip inflammation or impingement resulting in abnormal contact between the ball and socket of the hip joint.

Almost three-quarters of the pitchers returned to play in the same season regardless of injury type, researchers found. But the risk of ending up back on the disabled list for a re-injury was high: 46 percent for a core injury and 56 percent for a hip/groin injury.

Pitching workload was not tied to the risk of suffering a core or hip/groin injury, according to the study. The results were published in the February issue of the Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more on sports injuries.

Source: HealthDay