Korean J Sports Med.  2023 Jun;41(2):63-72. 10.5763/kjsm.2023.41.2.63.

Preseason Assessment for Throwing Shoulders in Korean Professional Baseball League Pitchers and Factors Affecting Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Shoulder and Elbow Scores

• Oh JH
• Kim JY
• Kim YK
• Kim YI

• KMID: 2542977
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5763/kjsm.2023.41.2.63

Abstract

Purpose
This study was performed to verify affecting factors to Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic Shoulder and Elbow score (KJOCS) in Korean professional baseball league pitchers at preseason by assessing related variables for throwing.
Methods
Twenty-seven pitchers from the Korean professional baseball league were enrolled in January 2017. The Korean version of KJOCS was administered to each pitcher, and demographics as well as pitching-related indexes such as innings pitched, earned run average in 2016 were collected. Regarding the assessment of the throwing arm, total rotational motion, horizontal adduction, and abduction were measured. Related shoulder physical examinations were also evaluated. The side-to-side difference was evaluated between the throwing and non-throwing arms, and the glenohumeral internal rotation deficit was also calculated. The correlation analyses between KJOCS and variables regarding throwing shoulders as well as demographics and pitching-related indexes were performed.
Results
Regarding the throwing shoulder, the total rotational motion (r=0.45), internal rotation at 90° abduction (r=0.492), and abduction (r=0.446) of the throwing shoulder were positively correlated with the KJOCS (all p＜ 0.05). Among demographics, age (r=−0.637) and career (r=−0.549) were negatively correlated with the KJOCS (p＜ 0.05). In multiple regression analysis, age was a single associated factor to the KJOCS inversely (r² =0.466, p=0.001) in Korean professional baseball league pitchers at preseason.
Conclusion
Age was the only affecting factor on KJOCS of pitchers in the Korean professional baseball league and KJOCS could not reflect subtle changes in range of motion and any positive findings of physical examinations in pitchers at preseason.

Keyword

Shoulder; Baseball; Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic Shoulder and Elbow score; Preseason; Correlation

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Exclusion criteria. KJOCS: Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic Shoulder and Elbow score.

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  Fig. 2 The measurement of range of motion by a bubble goniometer was drawn in a simplified manner. The measured arm was colored in grey with a dashed outline and axes were meant to be a start or end of measurement and drawn with dotted lines. The angles were depicted with circular black arrows. (A) The subject was positioned in supine and the rotational angle with 90° abduction of the throwing shoulder was measured at side. (B) The subject was positioned in supine and a horizontal adduction angle at 90° abduction of the shoulder was measured between the vertical axis and adducted shoulder axis in the axial plane. (C) The subject was positioned in supine and the abduction angle was measured between the angle of the thorax and the abducted shoulder in the coronal plane.

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  Fig. 3 The correlation between age and Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic Shoulder and Elbow score (KJOCS) showed a linear inverse correlation (r2=0.466, p=0.001; KJOCS=−2.45×age＋143.99) in Korean professional ba-seball league pitchers at preseason.

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