The lack of structure over the last year has made regular training and playing schedules difficult. The results can be seen in baseball treatment rooms
Baseball is a grind. Among the major US professional sports, MLB has the longest season: 162 regular-season games. Last year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 season was shortened, which to many, seemed like a good thing. It would lead to an increased rest period and hopefully less injuries. It seems, however, that the opposite has come true. Already, only a few months into the 2021 season, injury listings are on the rise. Statistics have shown a 30% increase in injuries thus far. The usual suspects such as UCL elbow injuries and ACL knee injuries have popped up as expected, but the overwhelming increase has been on “strains” and “sprains”.
Strains and sprains often refer to muscles and tendons. The UCL and ACL refer to ligaments. This anatomic difference can be important. Ligaments are like small ropes holding bones together. The UCL helps stabilize the inner elbow joint while throwing. The ACL stabilizes the knee joint for cutting and pivoting. Muscles, on the other hand, are meaty structures made up of fibers that can be stretched, or if pulled too far apart, torn. This can happen even at the microscopic level. Tendons are what muscles turn into so they can attach to bones and move them. These can also be stretched or torn. When muscles or tendons are stretched or partially torn, they aren’t necessarily repairable by surgery and can take a long time to heal, developing into nagging injuries that repeatedly rear their heads throughout the season or an athlete’s career.
