New Study: Survey of Softball Coaches on Injury Prevention Programming
“Approximately 50% of softball injuries are the result of overuse or chronic conditions.” (1,2)
That’s one heck of an opening salvo from this new study published in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy this month. Researchers set out to understand if coaches are implementing injury prevention training programs, what the barriers are to implementing them, and their overall understanding of injury risk factors.
If you’ve been following us, you know that we get really excited when we see a female athlete-focused study, given the documented data disparity gap in women’s sports (and especially between baseball vs. softball).
Note: “Injury Prevention” is the phrase most commonly used in the sports medicine field for training programs like what we provide. However, we prefer “Injury Reduction” because sports performance coaches can’t prevent injuries… but we can reduce the chances of them happening.
But, for the sake of this study, we’ll describe the programs as the authors do.
172 coaches responded to this survey, so let’s dig into the findings.
Advancements for the Future: A National Survey of Fastpitch Softball Coaches’ Perspectives on Injury Prevention Programming
Authors: Jaime Nurrenbern, Courtney Klueppel, Jeff Tilly, Kyle Matsel
Read the Full Study: International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy
Summary:
Researchers set out to understand three things through a 35 question survey:
If coaches are utilizing injury prevention training programs
Identify the barriers if they aren’t using them
Gain an understanding on coaches’ awareness and knowledge of injury risks and how training programs should be designed to reduce injury
This survey was sent out to 14,000 high school and college coaches, and 172 responded over the course of three months. Responses to the surveys were anonymous.
62% of respondents coached high school
22% coached travel (of which, 14U was the most common)
15.7% coached College (of which, NAIA was the most common).
Almost half (44%) of coaches had more than 10 years of experience, and less than 7% had less than a year of experience.
Key insights:
Less than 50% of softball coaches utilize injury prevention programs
Lack of knowledge on what program to use or not having enough staff were the two biggest barriers to utilizing programs
Over 50% of coaches understand that arm fatigue/overuse and decreased core strength are crucial risks, but 36% of coaches disagree (and/or strongly disagree) that pitchers should adhere to pitch counts
Coaches believe that athletes and coaches play the most important roles in preventing injuries.
90% of coaches think that training programs for pitchers versus position players should be similar
Study Limitations:
The sample size of responding coaches was smaller than expected, perhaps due to outdated mailing lists or defunct email addresses. There was a very limited amount of college-level coaches that responded.
The breakdown of level coached and experience among respondents in this survey.
A table from the study where coaches ranked who played the biggest role in preventing injuries.
Our Thoughts
It’s great to have a broader view on what sport specific coaches are thinking on injury reduction. Training program design requires knowledge of how the body bends and moves, and this knowledge can be achieved through formal education or trusted certifications and experience… all of which take considerable time.
Coaches should prioritize working with qualified individuals that have this knowledge rather than try and be a ‘jack of all trades.’ This could remove the two biggest barriers to implementation— knowledge and staff.
On “Injury Prevention” programs being similar for pitchers and position players
Our motto is “similar, but not the same.”
Regardless of position played, there’s forces at work through the core, shoulder, elbow, ankles, hips, knees, and back. The training programs for all softball players need to be similar to accommodate for the stresses, force production, and force absorption experienced during play.
However, we strongly believe that pitchers need an individualized program to accommodate for the stress they experience in a game. This program should take into consideration how often they pitch, when they pitch, and adjust for the volume.
While everyone throws and everyone bats, pitchers experience stresses in different ways than other positions— and at different intensities and frequencies.
Pitchers need to focus more on their Lumbopelvic Hip Complex (LPHC) region because of the transfer of power and rotation through the whole body while delivering the pitch. There’s also more concentric bicep stress on a pitcher than on a position player.
Catchers also experience unique stressors. They have to perform the same movements (squats and throws) over and over again within a short amount of time at varying intensities. They also have to stay in a specific position over a prolonged period. Program consideration must also be given to catchers.
Position players (including catchers) may have the potential for more elbow related issues because of their overhead throw depending on how they slot their arm.
The pelvis has to deal with a lot of energy transfer.
Photo credit: Julie L. Brown Photography
One of our pitchers demonstrates a unique movement we’ve added into our injury reduction programming.
On 36% of coaches disagreeing with pitch count adherence
We couldn’t disagree more with these coaches. Research has shown that softball pitchers face similar distraction forces as baseball pitchers— they just occur during different phases of the pitch (3,4). Sports scientists are starting to dig into reported injury and pitch volume as a result (5).
We’ve seen it in our pitchers, too. Pain in their shoulders, lower back, and more— and often because they have been chronically over-pitched. It changed how we approached their strength and conditioning programming as we tried to account for the intense stresses their bodies were having to produce and absorb.
Better pitching mechanics is always a good thing, but no one can pitch perfectly for a sustained period as they fatigue. Those great pitching mechanics still have to deal with similar distraction forces to baseball.
It’s time for pitch count in softball.
Conclusion
Softball players, and in particular, pitchers, need more data in order to better prepare and protect them for the demands of their sport.
We’re trying to inform the how the softball community views injury reduction in five ways.
We created a dashboard that helps our pitching athletes monitor pitch volume against their recovery, informing them of their own personal tolerance ranges.
We’re piloting a softball pitcher and catcher recovery program, designed to help their bodies repair faster and get them ready for competition again.
We’re educating the community by publishing how we changed our injury reduction programming after digging through the available research.
We’re partnering with researchers to expand the availability of female-athlete focused studies and data.
We’re continually advocating for our softball athletes amongst grassroots organizations and educating the community in online groups.
If you want to collaborate, please shoot us a DM on Facebook or Instagram, or email us at raymerstrength@gmail.com.
And if you’re interested in training with us (in person or online)…
References
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
Oliver GD, Saper MG, Drogosz M, et al. Epidemiology of shoulder and elbow injuries among us high school softball players, 2005-2006 through 2016-2017. Orthop J Sports Med. 2019;7(9):232596711986742. doi:10.1177/2325967119867428
Corben JS, Cerrone SA, Soviero JE, Kwiecien SY, Nicholas SJ, McHugh MP. Performance Demands in Softball Pitching: A Comprehensive Muscle Fatigue Study. Am J Sports Med. 2015 Aug;43(8):2035-41. doi: 10.1177/0363546515588179. Epub 2015 Jun 24. PMID: 26109610.
Rojas IL, Provencher MT, Bhatia S, Foucher KC, Bach BR Jr, Romeo AA, Wimmer MA, Verma NN. Biceps activity during windmill softball pitching: injury implications and comparison with overhand throwing. Am J Sports Med. 2009 Mar;37(3):558-65. doi: 10.1177/0363546508328105. Epub 2009 Jan 27. PMID: 19174551.
Gooch B, Lambert BS, Goble H, McCulloch PC, Hedt C. Relationship Between Pitch Volume and Subjective Report of Injury in High School Female Fast-Pitch Softball Pitchers. Sports Health. 2022;14(5):702-709. doi:10.1177/19417381211051381