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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1452412
This article is part of the Research Topic Muscle and Tendon Injuries in Sporting and Tactical Populations: Mechanisms, Prevention and Rehabilitation View all 6 articles

Unilateral Baseball Pitching: Morphological and Functional Adaptations in the Neck

Provisionally accepted
Leila Rahnama Leila Rahnama *Ceren Acik Ceren Acik Christine J Dy Christine J Dy Stefan Keslacy Stefan Keslacy
  • California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Functional asymmetry and muscle imbalances are recognized as contributors to injury risk in athletes. Sports with repetitive unilateral movements such as baseball pitching can lead to adaptations in shoulder and scapular muscles. There is a lack of research on whether these movements result in neck muscle alterations. Understanding potential asymmetries in neck musculature could provide valuable insights into athletes' performance and injury prevention strategies.Methods: Fourteen collegiate baseball pitchers and 15 controls voluntarily participated in this study. Bilateral dorsal neck muscle thickness, stiffness, neck range of motion (ROM), neck repositioning error, and extensor strength were measured, and the asymmetry between the two groups was compared. Rehabilitative ultrasound imaging was used to assess muscle thickness and stiffness. An inclinometer and a dynamometer were utilized to evaluate neck ROM and strength, respectively.The mean age of baseball pitchers was 21.86±1.6 year, and for the controls, it was 25.87±5.10 year. A significantly greater thickness of the splenius capitis on the non-dominant side was observed in baseball pitchers (P=0.029, ES=0.857), whereas controls demonstrated symmetrical muscle thickness in all dorsal neck muscles. Pitchers exhibited higher neck extensor maximal voluntary contraction compared to controls (P=0.017, ES= 0.926). Controls showed more bilateral differences in muscle stiffness in the splenius capitis and the semispinalis cervicis, although statistical asymmetry was not demonstrated.The cervical multifidus muscles showed bilateral symmetry despite the unilateral throwing motion in baseball pitching. However, unilateral neck rotation towards the non-dominant side appears to contribute to greater thickness of the splenius capitis on the non-dominant side of pitchers.

    Keywords: Neck Muscles, Baseball, Muscle adaptation, Functional asymmetry, strength, Proprioception

    Received: 18 Sep 2024; Accepted: 20 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Rahnama, Acik, Dy and Keslacy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Leila Rahnama, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, 90032, California, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.