Abstract

Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) sprains are among the most negatively impactful injuries that can be sustained by baseball pitcher. Several risk reductions measures have been attempted by baseball organizations in the United States, including pitch counts, age-based pitch type limitations and mandated rest days. However, these measures have not proven effective in reducing the rate of UCL injuries among baseball pitchers at any level where they have been implemented. Emerging research has suggested the Flexor Digitorum Superficialis (FDS) plays a significant role in resisting valgus force at the medial elbow. This would suggest that building muscular endurance in the FDS and finding ways to slow onset of fatigue in the muscle may be a means of reducing the risk of elbow injuries during pitching. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a grip enhancing substance on forearm musculature fatigue after pitching. Nineteen collegiate baseball pitchers consented to participate in this study. Subjects were asked to go through their usual warm up routines prior to taking part in a bullpen. Subjects were then asked to measure their grip strength using a handheld dynamometer (EH101 Digital Hand Dynamometer, Camry, South El Monte, CA) prior to pitching. Subjects then threw their bullpen with or without sunscreen and rosin applied to the fingers used to grip the ball. After completing their bullpen, subjects measured their grip strength again. Independent samples t-tests were performed to assess differences in changes in grip strength after pitching with and without sunscreen and rosin. In this study, pitchers using sunscreen and rosin experienced significantly lower losses of grip strength after bullpens compared to pitchers not using sunscreen and rosin (p=0.14). The findings of this study suggest that sticky substances for enhancing grip while pitching may result in slower fatigue of the medial forearm musculature during pitching. While this study was conducted on a small scale at a single institution, this data warrants further study to examine the use of sticky substances during pitching as a method of injury risk reduction.