New Study: The Disparity between Softball and Baseball Pitching Research
Left: Madysen Herbert pitches towards her opponent (photo courtesy of the Greenfield Reporter)
Right: Photo courtesy of Shane Stobbe
“Baseball and softball athletes sustain shoulder and/or elbow injuries at similar rates.” (1)
Let’s let that one digest.
A new paper was published in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery last week. It examines the differences between available research for both sports, and then further narrows that down to the sports’ pitching populations. The full text is available for free, so coaches, get on this one!
To our knowledge, this is one of the first peer-reviewed papers that takes the available research on baseball and softball pitching and puts them into context, side-by-side.
Why is this important?
Baseball’s availability of research has resulted in widely-adopted injury reduction strategies, sports performance training strategies, and adopted/enforced rules for player safety like the Pitch Smart Guidelines.
For softball, we are often relying on research published for baseball to fill in the gaps. Softball doesn’t have the focus of orthopaedic surgeons like baseball did during the beginning of the pitch count movement, either. For example, about half of softball pitching injuries are due to overuse (2). We’d be able to nail this range down to something more specific if we had more research.
Let’s dig into what the researchers uncovered between baseball and softball.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disparities Exist Between Baseball and Softball Peer Reviewed Pitching-Related Literature: A Systematic Review from 1990 to 2020
Authors: Gabrielle Gilmer, BChE, Albert Lin, MD, Michael Shannon, BS, Asher Mirvish, BA, Nicholas Aloi, BS, Forrest Shooster, BS, Justin J. Greiner, MD
Read the full article: Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery
Summary:
This research paper examines the availability, quality, and placement (where it was published) of literature on baseball and softball between 1990 and 2020. The authors hypothesized that there would be more research for baseball, and that this research would be higher quality and published in higher-impact journals than softball.
Original research was gathered from a variety of published databases and further screened by independent reviewers. In addition to journal impact and research quality, the authors also performed further meta-analysis to assess shoulder and elbow injury rates between softball and baseball pitchers.
After the study was complete, authors agreed that more research was needed for softball to provide “evidence-based injury prevention, practice guidelines, and treatment decisions.”
Key Insights:
More baseball articles were published per year than softball at a 5-to-1 rate
Baseball pitching articles outnumbered softball pitching articles at a 7.5-to-1 rate
Baseball pitching articles were published in higher impact journals
Softball pitchers have slightly higher odds of shoulder and elbow injury than baseball pitchers
Similar forces result in comparable shoulder and elbow injury rates amongst baseball and softball pitchers
More research is needed to understand the mechanical drivers of softball injury rates
Baseball pitching injury-related studies outnumbered softball pitching injury-related studies 7-to-1
Limitations:
This paper only focused shoulder and elbow injury rate
It grouped both shoulder and elbow injury rates into one group without differentiating them.
It didn’t differentiate injury based on age group.
Our Thoughts
The myth that the windmill pitch is a “more natural motion,” and “not as hard on the body as the baseball pitch” persists.
Spoiler alert— it is just as hard on the body.
Research from the last 15 years has proven this, but it hasn’t made it’s way into the mainstream. Sound surprising to you? Check out what research says about joint distraction forces.
This “natural motion” myth persists because softball does not have the same level focus of researchers and commercial entities invested in unlocking the secret behind better performance (and better safety). Many parents and coaches wrongly believe their athletes can pitch hundreds of times in a single weekend without risking injury. In a recent research survey, 38% of coaches disagreed or strongly disagreed with a softball pitch count. (3)
This new research that puts baseball and softball side by side shows the reality that shoulder and elbow injury rates are comparable between softball and baseball pitchers (1). Just last week, we were seeing comments on social media that downplayed the injuries in softball pitching, specifically saying that they didn’t occur at the same rate in baseball.
Perhaps the injury rate is comparable because there are fewer softball pitchers on a team and they pitch dramatically higher volumes than baseball. Since the research review covers literature from 1990 - 2020, and youth pitch counts for baseball didn’t become widely adopted until the mid-to-late 2000s, we don’t have a clear answer.
This is why research and context is important.
It’s time for a pitch count in softball.
Pitcher Lily Cash performs a movement that challenges her ability to resist rotation.
What’s Next
At Raymer Strength, we’re continuing to review our injury reduction training strategies for our athletes, including our softball pitchers. We made adjustments to some of our strength and conditioning strategies last year as a result, and we’ll continue to do so as more relevant research is published. Strength and conditioning coaches, we’ve made all our adjustments freely available and would love to collaborate with you.
We have a data-sharing/research partnership with a university in the works, but until that’s solidified, we can’t talk about it yet. If you’re a researcher that’s interested in partnering with us, we’d love to hear from you (raymerstrength@gmail.com). We’ve got some novel data collection going on, and it would be great to analyze it’s impact.
Softball pitching coaches, if you want to make use of our Recovery vs. Pitch Count/Volume Dashboard, please shoot us an email.
Exciting things are coming!
Our Softball Pitcher & Catcher Recovery Program
Our in-house athletes have piloted this 30 minute, post-game program over the summer and fall travel ball seasons, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
Recover through movement with this 30 minute program, utilizing light mobility and exercise post-game to increase blood flow to the affected areas of the body. Cancel your subscription at any time, but no refunds will be given.
By purchasing this program you agree to the Program Subscription Purchase Terms of Use Agreement and Liability Disclaimer.
Equipment referenced (but not included in subscription purchase):
Large loop band/J-band
Mini loop band
Massage gun (which you can substitute for a softball or tennis ball).
References:
Gabrielle Gilmer, Albert Lin, Michael Shannon, Asher Mirvish, Nicholas Aloi, Forrest Shooster, Justin J. Greiner, Quantitative and Qualitative Disparities Exist Between Baseball and Softball Peer Reviewed Pitching-Related Literature: A Systematic Review from 1990 to 2020, JSES Reviews, Reports, and Techniques, 2023, ISSN 2666-6391, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xrrt.2023.07.003.
Tysklind, Robert G. MD; Kraus, Kent R. MD; Dillon, Mark T. MD. Common Injuries in Female Competitive Softball Players. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons ():10.5435/JAAOS-D-23-00394, August 8, 2023. | DOI: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-23-00394
Nurrenbern J, Klueppel C, Tilly J, Matsel K. Advancements for the Future: A National Survey of Fastpitch Softball Coaches’ Perspectives on Injury Prevention Programming. IJSPT. 2023;18(4):958-968. doi:10.26603/001c.83262