Fast pitch softball injuries

The popularity of fast pitch softball in the US and throughout the world is well documented. Along with this popularity, there has been a concomitant increase in the number of injuries. Nearly 52% of cases qualify as major di sabling injuries requiring 3 weeks or more of treatment and 2% require surg ery. Interestingly, 75% of injuries occur during away games and approximate to 31% of traumas occur during nonpositional and conditioning drills. Inju ries range from contusions and tendinitis to ligamentous disorders and frac tures. Although head and neck traumas account for 4 to 12% of cases, upper extremity traumas account for 23 to 47% of all injuries and up to 19% of ca ses involve the knee. Approximately 34 to 42% of injuries occur when the athlete collides with an other individual or object. Other factors involved include the quality of p laying surface, athlete's age and experience level, and the excessive physi cal demands associated with the sport. Nearly 24% of injuries involve base running and are due to poor judgement, sliding technique, current stationar y base design, unorthodox joint and extremity position during ground impact and catching of cleats. The increasing prevalence of overtraining syndrome among athletes has been attributed to an unclear definition of an optimal training zone, poor communication between player and coach, and the limited ability of bone and connective tissue to quickly respond to match the dema nds of the sport. This has led routinely to arm, shoulder and lumbar instab ility chronic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use and time loss injuries in 45% of pitching staff during a single season. Specific attention to a safer playing environment, coaching and player educ ation, and sport-specific training and conditioning would reduce the risk, rate and severity of fast pitch traumas. Padding of walls, backstops, rails and dugout areas, as well as minimising use of indoor facilities, is sugge sted to decrease the number of collision injuries. Coaches should be cognis ant of overtraining, vary day-to-day training routines to decrease repetiti ve musculoskeletal stress, focus on motor skills with equal emphasis on spe ed and efficiency of movement, and use drills that reinforce sport-specific , decision making processes to minimise mental mistakes. Conditioning progr ams that emphasise a combination of power, acceleration, flexibility, techn ical skill, functional capacity and injury prevention are recommended. Due to the Limited body of knowledge presently available on this sport, a,a gre ater focus on injury surveillance would provide a clearer picture of injury causation and effective management procedures, leading toward safer partic ipation and successful player development.