Association Between Parental Understanding of Pitch Smart Guidelines and Youth Baseball Player Injuries

Abstract

Background: Injuries continue to rise among youth baseball players despite extensive research into prevention and the availability of throwing guidelines such as Pitch Smart. More research is needed to understand whether adherence to the current guidelines decreases injuries. Purpose: To understand the degree to which parents are aware of the Pitch Smart guidelines, whether parents adhere to the guidelines, and whether adherence results in decreased injuries in youth baseball players. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: An anonymous, internet-based survey consisting of 44 items was distributed to parents of adolescent baseball players affiliated with various youth baseball organizations across the midwestern United States; 15 items on the survey served as assessment questions of the Pitch Smart guidelines. Absolute and percentage correct scores were calculated and compared by use of a Student t test. A chi-square analysis was used to compare discrete data. A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine whether showcase participation predicted player injury. Results: A total of 853 parents completed the survey. The mean ± SD age of the players on whom parents reported was 11.37 ± 3.5 years (range, 6-20 years). Among the cohort, 422 players regularly pitched. Regarding Pitch Smart guidelines, the percentage of correct answers by parents was 55.44% ± 0.3% for a player with a reported injury history and 62.14% ± 0.2% for a player without an injury history (P = .012). The number of correct answers was 8.03 ± 4.0 for the group with an injury history and 9.17 ± 3.2 for the group with no history of injury (P = .004). Binary logistic regression analysis, which controlled for age, indicated that showcase participation (P = .001, β = 1.043 ± 0.026, R2 = 0.178) was a significant predictor of player injury. Conclusion: Pitchers are at an increased risk of injury compared with nonpitchers. Parents who are knowledgeable about the Pitch Smart throwing guidelines and actively follow them are significantly less likely to have a child with an injury. Excessive showcase participation is predictive of player injury when the analysis controls for age.