ScienceDaily (July 19, 2010) — Watch out if you are a Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher prior to the All-Star break. Pitchers are 34 percent more likely to be injured than fielders, according to a study presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's (AOSSM) Annual Meeting. The study looked into the epidemiology of MLB players' injuries from 2002 -- 2008. It also found that 77 percent of all injuries to pitchers happen before the All-Star Game.
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The study authors analyzed Major League Baseball disabled list data from a single internet website for the years 2002 -- 2008. Then they calculated the frequency and proportional distribution of injuries by anatomic region, league, time of season and position. The study found that upper extremity injuries accounted for 51.4 percent of all injuries. Lower extremity injuries accounted for 30.6 percent, while back injuries accounted for 7.4 percent and core muscle injuries accounted for 4.3 percent.
Pitchers had a 34 percent higher injury rate than fielders prior to the All-Star Game, according to the study. Not surprisingly, pitchers experienced 67 percent of the injuries to the upper extremity compared to fielders while fielders also had a greater proportion of the lower extremity injuries and injuries to other anatomic regions, according to the study.
The study also noted that pitchers also spent a greater proportion of days on the disability list (62.4 percent) when compared to fielders (37.6 percent). But both pitchers and fielders spent significantly more days on the disabled list for upper extremity injuries than for lower extremity injuries.
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