ATHLETES PERCIEVE WEIGHTED BASEBALLS TO CARRY A NOTABLE INJURY RISK, YET STILL USE THEM FREQUENTLY: A MULTICENTER SURVEY STUDY
Figure 1 - Graph showing the percentage of players likely to use a weighted baseball program (WBP) in the future based on their belief of whether a WBP can cause harm. Players indicated their willingness to participate in a WBP program on a scale of 0 to 100%. There were a total of 271 players thinking that a WBP could cause harm and 54 thinking that WBPs did not cause harm. Players thinking that WBPs caused no harm had a mean of 89% ± 16% and a median of 98.5% likelihood while players thinking that WBPs caused harm had a mean of 69% ± 31% with a median of 75% likelihood of future WBP use. The most common responses for both groups were in the 75% to 100% range, with 80% of the players who think WBPs cause harm and 98% of the players who do not think WBPs cause harm reporting a 50% to 100% likelihood to participate in a WBP in the future.
Introduction: Weighted baseball use in throwing programs is widespread; however, their use remains controversial. Prior research shows that weighted baseball programs can increase ball velocity but potentially increase throwing arm injuries. This study aims to ascertain perceptions of weighted baseballs among elite baseball players.
Methods: A created online survey questioned common practices, throwing regimens, injury risk factors, and weighted baseball program use. The questions were modeled to ascertain the perceptions of elite baseball players to understand their experience with weighted baseballs. Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted.
Results: Three hundred seventy-six baseball players with a mean age of 20 ± 2 years completed the survey; 64% of the players (239/376) were pitchers. 71% (267/376) reported the use of weighted baseballs. Of those, 75% (199/267) thought it made them a better player. Overall, 73% (275/377) thought weighted baseballs are a risk for injury. 17% (46/267) attributed their injury to using weighted baseballs. Overall, participants reported a mean 72% ± 30% likelihood of future weighted baseball use.
Conclusion: Most of the participating elite adult baseball players reported prior weighted baseball use with a corresponding improvement in pitching performance despite a perceived increased injury risk. Nearly 20% of the players attributed pain or injury to weighted baseball use. Moreover, the players surveyed intend to continue using weighted baseballs because of the perceived performance benefit.
Figure 2 - Graph showing the percentage of players likely to use a weighted baseball program (WBP) again in the future based on whether the player attributes an injury to prior WBP use. Players indicated their willingness to participate in a WBP program in the future on a scale of 0 to 100. There were a total of 280 players with no injury attributable to WBP use and 45 with an injury attributed to a previous WBP. Players without injury had a mean of 76% ± 28% and a median of 84.5% likelihood of future use while players attributing injury to WBP use had a mean of 49% ± 33% with a median of 50% likelihood of future WBP use.
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Published September 9, 2022 in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery Global Research & Reviews.