A Nation-Wide Survey of High School Baseball Coaches' Perceptions Indicates their Arm Care Programs Play a Role in Injury Prevention.
K A Matsel, E E Weiss, R J Butler and 4 others
PMID 34123533WHAT IT FOUND
Most high school baseball coaches use group-based arm care programs, but their knowledge of key injury risks like fatigue and prior injury is poor.
Coaches believe they are the primary protectors of player health, yet they rarely individualize exercises or collaborate with medical staff.
Key findings
0187.3% of responding coaches use arm care programs, but the vast majority (81.4%) use generic group-based routines rather than individualized plans.
02Coaches have inconsistent knowledge of injury risk factors; while most identify range of motion issues, few recognize arm fatigue (16.7%) or playing catcher (2%) as major risks.
03Coaches believe they play the largest role in injury prevention (57.3%), significantly more than parents (2.8%) or medical professionals (1.5%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study relies on self-report, which may introduce reporting bias, particularly if coaches overestimate their compliance or knowledge. The response rate was low (3.7% of contacted coaches), which may indicate selection bias toward coaches already interested in arm care. The survey design cannot confirm actual on-field practice, only what coaches report doing. Email-only distribution may have excluded coaches with limited technological access.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest or funding sources are explicitly detailed in the provided text, though the survey was developed by rehabilitation professionals.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high rate of arm care program usage (87.3%) as evidence of effective injury prevention. The study shows that most programs are generic, not individualized, and coaches have significant gaps in knowledge regarding key risk factors like fatigue and prior injury.