Knudsen, Michael L.

Purpose The purposes of this study were to determine the incidence and key characteristics of meniscus injuries in professional baseball players, assess current treatment strategies, determine the return to play rates at any level (RTP) and at the same level (RSL), and identify prognostic factors that predict injury severity. Methods After approval from the Major League Baseball (MLB) Research Committee and our institutional review board, the MLB Health and Injury Tracking System was used to identify meniscus injuries occurring across MLB and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) from 2011 to 2017. Analyzed injuries occurred during normal baseball activity in a player who was active on an MLB or MiLB roster and resulted in at least 1 day missed. Results A total of 293 professional baseball players sustained 314 meniscus injuries from 2011 to 2017 (7 years) for a mean of 44.9 injuries/y. Pitchers were the most injured position (31.8%), followed by infielders (26.4%). Catchers and infielders missed the most median number of days (50 days). When comparing injuries to landing leg vs push‐off leg in pitchers, injury to the push‐off leg resulted in significantly more days missed per injury compared to the lead leg (59.6 vs 39.9 days, P = .048). Overall, RTP was 93.0%, while RSL was 84.4%. Conclusions Over 7 professional baseball seasons, 314 meniscus injuries occurred in 293 players. Pitchers and catchers were most injured, and overall, the number of meniscal injuries per year declined while the percentage of injuries that required surgery increased over time. High rates of RTP were observed. Level of Evidence Level IV, therapeutic case series.

Purpose To characterize the shoulder injuries experienced by baseball batters and position players (nonpitchers); to quantify the outcomes of these injuries with respect to time out of play, recurrence, and surgery rates; and to identify any injury patterns that are associated with worse outcomes. Methods Between 2011 and 2017, all Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players who sustained shoulder injuries were identified using the MLB Health and Injury Tracking System (HITS). Injuries were included if they were sustained during baseball activity, resulted in at least 1 day missed (DM), and occurred in position players (nonpitchers). Results Over the study period, a total of 3,414 shoulder injuries occurred in batters, resulting in a sum of 68,808 DM and a mean of 22 DM per injury. Most injuries were a result of acute trauma (n = 2125; 62.2%) with throwing as the predominant activity (n = 1292; 38%). Rotator cuff strain/tears was the most common diagnosis (n = 790; 23.1%), and SLAP tears had the highest season‐ending rate (35.3%) and need for surgery (45.1%). There was a lower frequency of surgery (6.2% vs 9.2%; P = .002) and reinjury (2.03% vs 3.62%; P = .007) in the throwing shoulder vs the nonthrowing shoulder. There was an increased frequency of surgery for the front versus the back batting shoulder (8.2% vs 6.2%; P = .031) with similar DM (20.7 vs 22.2; P = .333) and return to play rates (94.0% vs 92.2%; P = .135). Conclusions During the 7‐season study period, there were a total of 3,414 shoulder injuries that resulted in nearly 70,000 days of out of play in professional baseball position players/batters (nonpitchers). Although pitchers were intentionally excluded from the analysis, throwing was still the most common mechanism of injury, and rotator cuff injuries were the most common injury. Labral tears were the most likely injury to be season ending and require surgery. Clinical Relevance This study is meant to help determine characteristics of shoulder injuries that occur in non‐pitchers by focusing on professional baseball batters and position players. This information could be helpful to sports medicine practitioners and shoulder specialists to better prognosticate injury recovery.