Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Dec;15(6):547-551.
doi: 10.1007/s12178-022-09795-y. Epub 2022 Nov 24.

Understanding Batter's Shoulder: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Outcomes

Andrew Carbone  1 , Orr Limpisvasti  2
Affiliations
Review

Understanding Batter's Shoulder: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Outcomes

Andrew Carbone et al. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Though most of the attention in recent literature on baseball injuries has been paid to throwers, one often overlooked aspect of the game is the effect of the batter's swing on the shoulder. It is well known that the batter's lead shoulder can experience significant translational forces during the player's swing, and that these are increased following a missed swing. The purpose of this paper is to review the background and pathophysiology as well as clinical presentation and treatment of players with Batter's shoulder.

Recent findings: Recent studies demonstrate that while nonoperative treatment of Batter's shoulder is still a viable first line of treatment, favorable outcomes have been reported with arthroscopic posterior labral repair for high level athletes. Batter's injury can cause significant pain and dysfunction in baseball hitters, especially during the follow through phase of swing. While conservative care can be attempted early, outcomes following arthroscopic posterior labral repair are favorable with a high rate of return to play.

Keywords: Batter’s shoulder; Glenoid labral tear; Posterior shoulder instability; Shoulder.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors do not have existing conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
MR Arthrogram demonstrating a Batter’s shoulder posterior labral tear. Image from ref. [•]
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A, B Intraoperative photos demonstrating fraying and tearing of the posteroinferior labrum with partial healing of the medialized labrum. C Dynamic assessment of the shoulder reproduces posterior subluxation of the humeral head. D Arthroscopic posterior labral repair utilizing 3 suture anchors in a “suture first” technique
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Baseball ML. Statcast Hitting MLB.com. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/league.
    1. Shaffer B, Jobe FW, Pink M, Perry J. Baseball batting: an electromyographic study. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1993;292(292):285–293. doi: 10.1097/00003086-199307000-00038. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Welch CM, Banks SA, Cook FF, Draovitch P. Hitting a baseball: a biomechanical description. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 1995;22(5):193–201. doi: 10.2519/jospt.1995.22.5.193. - DOI - PubMed
    1. • Kang RW, Mahony GT, Harris T, Dines J. Posterior instability caused by Batter’s shoulder. Clin Sport Med. 2013;32:797-802. This was the first comprehenisve review article on the topic of Batter's shoulder. - PubMed
    1. • Philips B, Andrews J, Fleisig G. Batter’s shoulder: posterior instability of the lead shoulder, a biomechanical evaluation. Birmingham, AL; 2000. Dr. Andrews was one of the first surgeons to describe the problem of Batter's shoulder and potental mechanism of injury in detail.