TY - JOUR
T1 - The Epidemiology and Effect of Sliding Injuries in Major and Minor League Baseball Players
AU - Camp, Christopher L.
AU - Curriero, Frank C.
AU - Pollack, Keshia M.
AU - Mayer, Stephanie W.
AU - Spiker, Andrea M.
AU - D'Angelo, John
AU - Coleman, Struan H.
N1 - Funding Information:
One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: This research was supported by a contract from the Office of the Commissioner, Major League Baseball, to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for epidemiologic design, analysis, and statistical support. S.H.C. receives royalties from Blue Belt Technologies, holds stock or stock options in Cymedica Orthopedics and Blue Belt Technologies, and is a paid consultant for Stryker Pivot Medical.
Publisher Copyright:
© American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.
Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2017/8/1
Y1 - 2017/8/1
N2 - Background: Although sliding occurs frequently in professional baseball, little is known about the epidemiology and effect of injuries that occur during sliding in this population of elite athletes. Purpose: To describe the incidence and characteristics of sliding injuries, determine their effect in terms of time out of play, and identify common injury patterns that may represent appropriate targets for injury prevention programs in the future. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiologic study. Methods: All offensive sliding injuries occurring in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MLB) that resulted in time out of play during a span of 5 seasons (2011-2015) were identified. In addition to player demographics, data extracted included time out of play, location on field where injury occurred, level of play, treatment (surgical vs nonsurgical), direction of slide (head vs feet first), body region injured, and diagnosis. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the distribution of these injuries, and injury rates were calculated per slide. Results: From 2011 to 2015, 1633 injuries occurred as a result of a slide. The total number of days missed per season was 4263. Surgical intervention was required for 134 (8.2%) injuries, and the mean days missed was 66.5 for players treated surgically and 12.3 days for players treated nonoperatively (P <.001). MLB players were more likely than MiLB players to require surgical intervention (12.3% vs 7.5%, P =.019). Injuries to the hands/fingers represented 25.3% of all injuries and 31.3% of those requiring surgery. Although the majority of injuries occurred at second base (57%), the per-slide injury rate was similar across all bases (P =.991). The estimated overall frequency of injury in MLB was once per every 336 slides, and the rate of injury for head- and feet-first slides was 1 in 249 and 413 slides, respectively (P =.119). Conclusion: Injuries occurring while sliding in professional baseball result in a significant amount of time out of play for these elite athletes. Injuries occurring at second base and those occurring to the hands and fingers were most prevalent and may be an appropriate target for future injury prevention programs.
AB - Background: Although sliding occurs frequently in professional baseball, little is known about the epidemiology and effect of injuries that occur during sliding in this population of elite athletes. Purpose: To describe the incidence and characteristics of sliding injuries, determine their effect in terms of time out of play, and identify common injury patterns that may represent appropriate targets for injury prevention programs in the future. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiologic study. Methods: All offensive sliding injuries occurring in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MLB) that resulted in time out of play during a span of 5 seasons (2011-2015) were identified. In addition to player demographics, data extracted included time out of play, location on field where injury occurred, level of play, treatment (surgical vs nonsurgical), direction of slide (head vs feet first), body region injured, and diagnosis. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the distribution of these injuries, and injury rates were calculated per slide. Results: From 2011 to 2015, 1633 injuries occurred as a result of a slide. The total number of days missed per season was 4263. Surgical intervention was required for 134 (8.2%) injuries, and the mean days missed was 66.5 for players treated surgically and 12.3 days for players treated nonoperatively (P <.001). MLB players were more likely than MiLB players to require surgical intervention (12.3% vs 7.5%, P =.019). Injuries to the hands/fingers represented 25.3% of all injuries and 31.3% of those requiring surgery. Although the majority of injuries occurred at second base (57%), the per-slide injury rate was similar across all bases (P =.991). The estimated overall frequency of injury in MLB was once per every 336 slides, and the rate of injury for head- and feet-first slides was 1 in 249 and 413 slides, respectively (P =.119). Conclusion: Injuries occurring while sliding in professional baseball result in a significant amount of time out of play for these elite athletes. Injuries occurring at second base and those occurring to the hands and fingers were most prevalent and may be an appropriate target for future injury prevention programs.
KW - Major League Baseball
KW - Minor League Baseball
KW - professional baseball
KW - sliding injuries
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U2 - 10.1177/0363546517704835
DO - 10.1177/0363546517704835
M3 - Article
C2 - 28499094
AN - SCOPUS:85026835403
SN - 0363-5465
VL - 45
SP - 2372
EP - 2378
JO - American Journal of Sports Medicine
JF - American Journal of Sports Medicine
IS - 10
ER -