Purpose: Serious arm injuries in youth baseball players have been increasing. Though a breakage in the kinetic chain could affect arm injuries, an association between arm injuries and insufficiency support of the trunk and lower extremities were not well understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of low back and knee pain with elbow and/or shoulder complaints among youth baseball players. Study Design: Descriptive Epidemiology Study Methods: We sent anonymous questionnaires to youth athletes belonging to the Miyagi Amateur Sports Association. The final population was comprised of 1,535 youth baseball players. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to examine the association of low back and knee pain with elbow and/or shoulder pain. Variables considered in the models were sex, age, BMI, years of athletic experience, position, team level, the amount of practice, participating day in team practice and game per week, frequency of participation in games, and practice intensity. Results: A total of 24.8% (n=381) had elbow and/or shoulder pain; whereas 8.5% (n=130) had low back pain and 13.1% (n=201) had knee pain. The prevalence of elbow and/or shoulder pain who had low back and knee pain were 61.2% (n= 82) and 51.9% (n= 108) (p<0.001), respectively. The presence of low back and knee pain were significantly associated with the prevalence of elbow and/or shoulder pain among youth baseball players (adjusted ORs (95%CI): 4.31 (2.86 – 6.51), p<0.001 and 2.92 (2.09 – 4.09), p<0.001, respectively). For other variables, older age (10- and 11-year-old: ORs (95%CI): 1.73 (1.10 – 2.73), p=0.018; 12- to 15-year-old: 1.62 (1.18 – 2.58), p=0.006), pitcher (1.46 (1.10 – 1.94), p=0.009), catcher (1.69 (1.24 – 2.31), p=0.001,), and practice intensity (1.58 (1.22 – 2.06), p=0.001) were significantly associated with elbow and/or shoulder pain. Conclusion: Both low back and knee pain were significantly associated with elbow and/or shoulder pain in youth baseball players. This result suggests that checking the trunk and lower extremities as well as elbows and shoulders are important for preventing sever inuries in youth baseball players.
Takuya Sekiguchi,Yoshihiro Hagiwara,Haruki Momma,Masahiro Tsuchiya,Kaoru Kuroki, ·
Kenji Kanazawa,Yutaka Yabe,Masashi Koide,Nobuyuki Itaya,Eiji Itoi,Ryoichi Nagatomi
