RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Rates of shoulder and elbow pathology are well documented among competitive baseball players in the United States; however, little is known about the prevalence of these pathologies in the Dominican Republic (DR). PURPOSE: To report the epidemiology of shoulder and elbow pathology among participants at a Major League Baseball scouting event in Santo Domingo, DR. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective descriptive study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3. METHODS: All pitchers and position players who attended the 2021 scouting event were reviewed. Those with complete medical history, physical examination, imaging series, and radiology reports were included. All participants underwent shoulder and elbow radiography, while pitchers also underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). All pathologic findings on imaging studies were recorded and compared among position players and pitchers. RESULTS: Seventy-five participants (average age, 17.9 years) were reviewed (42 position players, 33 pitchers); 72% and 32% had ≥1 abnormal finding on elbow and shoulder radiographs, respectively. Position players had significantly higher numbers of elbow radiographic findings compared with pitchers (81% vs 57.6%, P = 0.03) but similar numbers on shoulder radiograph (28.6% vs 33.3%, P = 0.66). Position players had high numbers of acromioclavicular separation (14.3%) and little leaguer's shoulder (14.3%) on shoulder radiograph, with olecranon osteophytes (23.8%) and medial epicondyle nonunions (11.9%) prevalent on elbow radiograph. Pitchers had high numbers of rotator cuff pathology (93.9%), labral tears (75.8%), and Bennett lesions (51.5%). On elbow imaging, pitchers had high numbers of ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) abnormalities (81.8%), olecranon osteophytes (69.7%), osteochondral lesions (18.2%), and medial epicondyle nonunions (12.1%). Two pitchers had complete UCL disruption (6.1%), while 8 had partial tears (24.2%). CONCLUSION: Dominican baseball prospects had high numbers of asymptomatic shoulder and elbow pathology on imaging studies. Knowledge of the prevalence of these pathologies can guide injury prevention programs in Dominican youth baseball.
RESUMO
CONTEXT: Dominican Republic (DR) players have different training norms, which can affect their resiliency and performance. The variance among DR players' training regimens may be influenced by the degree of training incorporating fundamental movement patterns. OBJECTIVE: To examine differences in fundamental movement patterns in United States (US)-born versus DR-born professional baseball players. DESIGN: Cross-sectional cohort. SETTING: Professional baseball athletic training room. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred forty-two players (76 DR-born and 66 US-born) who were recently selected by a Major League Baseball team. INTERVENTION: Subjects completed the Functional Movement Screen using the standardized 7 movement tests and the 3 isolated clearing tests. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary variables studied were composite score, left and right asymmetry, and individual movement standard scores. Two-way chi-squared analysis was utilized for the statistical analysis with statistical significance being identified at P < .05. RESULTS: DR players had a larger number of 1s (7.8% vs 3.0%) and 3s (10.5% vs 1.5%) on the right-sided hurdle step and a greater percentage of 3s (82.8% vs 60.6%) on right-sided shoulder mobility. US players had a larger percentage of 3s (33.3% vs 13.4%) and a lower percentage of 1s (2.2% vs 15.1%) on the active straight leg raise and a greater percentage of passable scores (≥2; 99.5% vs 65.8%) on the trunk stability push-up. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that fundamental movement competency differs between US- and DR-born professional baseball players. Based on these movement competency differences, a player's country of origin may be taken into account to create an effective training program.