Zaremski Jason L, A Holtz Kaila, L Downs Talmage Jessica, Ulman Sophia, Oliver Gretchen D
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Sports Health. 2025 Jan-Feb;17(1):150-155. doi: 10.1177/19417381241297160. Epub 2024 Nov 25.
Fastpitch softball is a popular women's sport in the United States, and participation rates are increasing. There is growing concern about the prevalence of overuse injuries in softball pitchers at all competitive levels. Pitching workload in softball may be a modifiable risk factor and will be discussed in this narrative review.
A review of softball injury research related to workload available in electronic databases, including PubMed, Medline, and EBSCO.
Clinical review.
Level 4.
There is a paucity of research evaluating workload (inclusive of internal and external risk factors) including pitch counts in women's softball. In particular, research has shown that pitchers report increasing fatigue and pain over a game and weekend tournament, and that the number of pitches thrown by pitchers varies widely. One study showed that pitchers throwing >85 pitches per game had an increased risk of injury over the season. As of 2023, no established pitch count restrictions exist in the United States or Canada. Further research, particularly at high school and collegiate levels, is needed.
Softball pitchers are at an increased risk of overuse injury and further research is needed to recommend specific workload interventions such as pitch counts.Strength-of-Recommendation Taxonomy (SORT): B.
快投垒球是美国一项受欢迎的女子运动，参与率正在上升。人们越来越关注各级别垒球投手过度使用损伤的患病率。垒球投球工作量可能是一个可改变的风险因素，本文将对此进行叙述性综述。
对电子数据库（包括PubMed、Medline和EBSCO）中与工作量相关的垒球损伤研究进行综述。
临床综述。
4级。
评估女子垒球工作量（包括内部和外部风险因素）（如投球数）的研究很少。特别是，研究表明投手在一场比赛和周末锦标赛中报告疲劳和疼痛加剧，且投手投出的球数差异很大。一项研究表明，每场比赛投球超过85次的投手在赛季中受伤风险增加。截至2023年，美国和加拿大没有既定的投球数限制。需要进一步的研究，尤其是在高中和大学层面。
垒球投手过度使用损伤的风险增加，需要进一步研究以推荐特定的工作量干预措施，如投球数。推荐分级系统（SORT）：B级。
