Shoulder and Hip Range of Motion and Strength Changes Throughout a Season in College Softball Players.

54 athletes came from one NCAA Division 1 team, so the results may not apply to other levels or teams. All participants were healthy and injury-free during the study, and injuries were not tracked, so the paper does not show that these changes cause injury. No intervention was tested, so stretching or strengthening programs cannot be said to prevent the observed changes. Position players were not separated by position or in-season workload, and the cohort was not large enough for position-specific groups. The pitcher group was much smaller than the position player group, making differences harder to demonstrate. Some athletes contributed multiple player seasons, so changes could be skewed by athletes who participated for more seasons. Each measurement was performed once, so measurement error was not included. Strength testing was not performed against a solid structure, so tester strength may have limited the measurements. Measurements were not taken at a fixed time relative to competition or workouts, although they were taken under similar conditions before preseason workouts and without warm-up.

No funding or conflict-of-interest information is reported in the supplied text. The study was approved by the University of Florida Health Science Center Institutional Review Board.

Do not read these seasonal changes as injury risk or proof that stretching and strengthening prevent injury. This study measured healthy, injury-free athletes and did not track injuries or test any intervention.