Pride and Pain, big study on owies...

Descriptive Epidemiology of Collegiate Women’s Softball Injuries: National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System, 1988-1989 Through 2003-2004

Marshall, S.W., Kamstra-Wright, K.L., Dick, R., Grove, K.A., & Agel, J. (2007). Descriptive Epidemiology of Collegiate Women’s Softball Injuries: National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System, 1988-1989 Through 2003-2004. Journal of Athletic Training, 42(2), 286-294.

This study was less of a study and more of a report of injury incidence during the early years of college softball. An average of 88 schools participated each year within the three NCAA divisions, including 171 in 2000 as the most in one year. On average, 48 games were played by Division I schools, 45 by Division II schools, and 32 by Division III schools, with an average of 12 participants per game for all divisions. Division I and II schools averaged 51 practices with 16 and 15 participants, respectively, per season. Division III schools averaged 47 practices per year with 16 participants per practice.

I feel the only way to report this study is by giving short highlights:

• The average injury incidence per 1000 athletic exposures (AE) for games was 4.3 and for practices was 2.7.
• The highest year for game injury rate was 5.2 and lowest was 3.1 per 1000 AE.
• The highest year for practice injury rate was 3.6 and lowest was 1.9 per 1000 AE.
• In-season game and practice injury rates were higher (4.53 per 1000 AE) than post-season game and practice injury rates (2.39 per 1000 AE).
• Preseason game injury rates averaged 2.65 per 1000 AE but preseason practice injury rates were 3.65 per 1000 AE.
• Of the total injuries, 42% were lower extremity injuries and 33% were upper extremity. 12.3% were trunk or back.
• The most common injury was an ankle sprain for games (10.3 %) and practices (9.5%).
• The most common shoulder injuries during games were muscle/tendon strain (2.8%), tendonitis (1.5%) and subluxation (1.5%).
• Most game injuries resulted from contact with something (not a competitor) at a rate of 51.2%. Sliding accounted for 23% of the total game injuries.
• 27% of game injuries resulted without any contact versus 55% of the injuries in practice were not contact related.
• Of the injuries in games, 24.8% required more than 10 days of recovery. 22% of practice injuries involved more than 10 days of recovery.
• The most common severe injuries costing more than 10 days for recovery were internal knee damage (22.6%), ankle ligament sprain (7.8%), broken fingers (6.5%), and broken hands (6.2%).
• The most common severe practice injuries were internal knee damage (15%), ankle ligament sprain (6.6%), and shoulder tendonitis (5.5%).
• Only 10.8% of the total injured players were pitchers. The most injured players were base runners (28.8%).
• The most common game injury mechanisms were contact with an opposing player (18.3%), contact with the ground (13.6%), and no contact/non-throwing (13.4%). Pitchers’ throwing injuries accounted for 6.3% of the total.
• Softball players averaged 3.3 feet first slides per game vs. 1.34 head first slides. Injury rate per 1000 slides was 12.76, which is significantly higher than in baseball at 6.20 injuries per 1000 slides.
• Out of 2150 game injuries reported, 241 came from contact with a batted ball (11.2% of total), the majority of those were incurred by the batter (60) and the pitcher (54).

This ended up being an interesting study, as others have always pointed out that, in self-reported studies, most pitching injuries were in the shoulder (Hill, et al., 2004). Self-reports are based upon memory, and therefore some stuff may be inadvertently omitted due to their importance, pain factor, or that they were the most recent. The injury incidence was similar to previous studies as well (Hill, et al., 2004; Loosli, et al., 1992). Interestingly, pitchers are not the most injured players on the team, contrary to those early studies.

As a college coach, I know that we don’t practice sliding and diving often. In five years of coaching, I have never been a part of a division I program that worked on sliding and diving technique work. We only worked on it 2 or 3 times at my junior college school, usually when it rained. Obviously, this study reveals that significant technique and skill work should be devoted to sliding and diving.

Keep drawing conclusions and read the study. Like a good book, each time I read this one I see something new and interesting. The more we learn from it and keep our kids on the field, the more successful we can be.