Multifactorial analysis of injuries in baseball pitchers in a national series in Cuba

Abstract

In the present study, a correlational, longitudinal and prospective investigation was carried out between November 2018 and November 2020. The objective of the work was: determine the relationship of the history of injuries, physical preparation and compliance with physioprophylaxis with the occurrence of new injuries during the 59th National Baseball Series in Cuba. The 16 pitchers who made up the pitching group of the Villa Clara team participated, who were between 19 and 35 years old and had sports experience between 11 and 25 years. Among the methods used were: a specific questionnaire to obtain information on the history of injuries and a form to record the injuries that occurred during the competition, the Mile test for the evaluation of aerobic power and relative oxygen consumption, while to evaluate compliance with the physio-prophylactic plan, structured observation and empirical frequency distribution were used. A significant relationship was obtained between past injuries and the occurrence of new injuries in the series, with those who had previously been injured being more likely to be injured. Presenting lower aerobic power and relative oxygen consumption, as well as performing a poor warm-up and massage was related to the occurrence of the injury. In addition, poor stretching was related to a greater number and severity of injuries in the series analyzed. It is essential to improve physical preparation and compliance with physioprophylaxis in pitchers with a history of injuries in order to prevent them.