
Though common, these types of injury can be a major career setback for
professional athletes.
Hamstring injuries are common in athletes, especially baseball players.
Whereas some sports injuries in baseball are often viewed as afflicting
certain positions – the pitcher, for example, hamstring injuries
don’t discriminate. They can affect the pitcher and position players.
Injuries to the hamstring can range from mild to severe, but recovering
from them can be a significant setback for a professional athlete, and
in some extreme cases, career-ending.
Though we refer to it as a singular entity, the hamstring is a group of
three muscles. They run along the back of the thigh, from the hip to the
knee. These muscles allow us the flexibility we need in our legs to bend
at the knee. The hamstring works in conjunction with the quadriceps muscle
on the front of the leg. The quadriceps muscle is responsible for straightening
the knee on the extension of the leg. Hamstring pulls, tears and strains
can often occur when the force of the quadriceps muscle in the front of
the leg overpowers the hamstring in the back of the leg. Picture an explosive
run a player engages in after hitting the ball and then sprinting to first
base, and you’ll see quadriceps firing on all cylinders and hamstrings
trying to reign them in. If those hamstrings are weak or fatigued, this
can be a recipe for disaster.
To date, little is known about the incidence of hamstring injuries in baseball
players, especially those playing in summer leagues who are preparing
for an upcoming collegiate baseball season or for being drafted by a major
league team. So my colleagues and I set out to research the topic via
a cross-sectional observational study that was recently published in the
International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy.
What we found through our research is that baseball players who are participating
in summer league getting ready for their college season or preparing for
the majors tend to have a higher rate of hamstring injuries than most.
Many are reporting with a history of back thigh pain or a previous hamstring
injury. When that occurred, there was a higher rate of the injury occurring again.
Hamstring injuries can keep a player from advancing, postpone their careers
and, in severe cases, even end them. Other studies have shown that hamstring
injuries are responsible for an alarming rate of injuries and disabilities
in baseball players. The question is, why?
Many injuries in sports come from not warming up properly and particularly
with summer players, inexperience. There is also significant data to suggest
that the recurrence of hamstring injuries is higher when old hamstring
injuries were not allowed to heal completely before returning to play.
Additionally, baseball is more sedentary than other sports. Players are
not moving and running around all the time and have many hours where they
are standing still, sitting or squatting. Then, at some point during the
game, they will likely be required to engage in fast-twitch, reactionary
movements or an all-out sprint – on cold muscles.
When combining these factors with the actual method of the game, it is
understandable how players get injured. When there is a sudden need for
the player to read and react or sprint and their body isn’t accustomed
to or ready for it, injuries can and will happen.
Because the nature of baseball practice often involves throwing, batting,
and catching, the muscles in the hips and legs can be neglected and become
tight. The best prevention for hamstring injuries in baseball players
is to train and warm-up. Deep stretches daily will help keep those muscles
limber and flexible. As running and sprinting is not only a significant
part of baseball and a major cause for these injuries, running mechanics
drills must incorporate into the daily warm-up and training schedule,
as well. Using weight-training to strengthen the hamstring and quadriceps
muscles will also help keep injury incidence down.
Hamstring injuries in baseball players can be career-changers and are far
too prevalent not to be taken seriously. Entire careers can be at stake
as well as ongoing physical health. It can take months, if not longer,
for an individual to recover from a severe hamstring injury. That can
mean back to the minors, back to basic training, and a significant delay,
if not an abrupt end to their career. Even in the majors, players lose
too much playtime due to hamstring injuries. For every baseball career
that is on the line, a change to training and conditioning is worth the effort.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31803521
https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/hamstring-injuries#1
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31431899
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24727933
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26991568