Injuries and Medical Issues in Softball

Abstract

Softball is enjoyed by millions of female and male athletes of all ages and competitive levels. Windmill pitchers are at risk for developing overuse injuries in the throwing arm. Improper mechanics and lack of pitch counts may increase the risk for developing a pitching-related injury. Softball-related overuse injuries include proximal biceps tendinitis, upper extremity stress fractures, and ulnar neuritis. Acute injuries commonly occur in the lower extremity and include both fractures and ligamentous injuries. Sliding injuries account for a significant number of these lower extremity injuries. The addition of breakaway bases and mandatory use of protective headgear by defensive players may decrease acute injuries commonly seen in softball. Off-season programs should stress proper throwing and sliding mechanics, core conditioning, and a lower extremity neuromuscular education program.

Non–Time-Loss and Time-Loss Softball Injuries in Secondary School Athletes: A Report From the National Athletic Treatment, Injury and Outcomes Network (NATION)

“…In terms of TL injuries, the highest proportion was to the head/face (40.8%). Although we tended to report higher proportions of injuries to the upper extremities and head/face, other researchers 12,13 reported higher proportions of injuries (40% to 43%) to the lower extremities. When we consider only TL injuries, our findings suggest that a smaller proportion of injuries were to the lower extremities than previously described.…”

“…The shoulder was the most frequently injured body part in several softball studies. 2,12,13 Further, of all the NTL injuries in our study, the highest proportions were to the shoulder (15.1%) and hand/fingers (12.3%). In terms of TL injuries, the highest proportion was to the head/face (40.8%).…”

“…Given the paucity of data on softball injuries, research is needed to expand our understanding of the epidemiology of softball injuries, especially at the secondary school level, when athletes typically begin to specialize in a sport. 10,11 Authors have described the body location, 2,12,13 injury type, 2,12,13 and position 2,12 of softball injuries, but most of these data are more than 10 years old. 3,4,12 Further, most reports on softball injuries focused on injuries that resulted in time lost from play and included only injuries that resulted in 1 day of missed participation in practices or games.…”

Upper Extremity Pain and Pitching Mechanics in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Softball

“…The "acceleration phase" occurs from the top of the backswing (arm directly overhead) to ball release [2,5,46,47]. Data supporting both mechanical [2,27,46,47] and injury components [3,6,40,41] of softball pitching have been published, however there have yet to be data describing the pitching mechanics of those experiencing upper extremity pain.…”

“…Previous studies revealed that both participation [13] and injury rates in fast-pitch softball are comparable to those reported in the baseball population [19,[32][33][34][35]40]. When injuries in fast-pitch softball were examined, the major focus has been on overuse [4,6,14,19,20,24,26,39,40,43]. Approximately 370 overuse injuries were reported in collegiate and high school fast-pitch softball players from 2004-2009 [37].…”