投球量對棒球投手身體功能與投球運動生物力學的影響：系統性文獻回顧

The influence of pitch count on physical functions and biomechanical characteristics of pitching motion in baseball pitchers: A systematic literature review

在棒球選手受傷因子中，研究指出投球量是造成球員受傷危險的因素之一，若能全面地瞭解投球量累積對投手身體功能與投球運動生物力學變化等影響是至關重要的。因此本文獻回顧針對投球量探討：一、投球量對投手身體功能的影響；二、投球量對投手投球運動生物力學特性的影響。本研究搜尋四個電子資料庫(Scopus、SPORTDiscus、MEDLINE與PubMed)，搜尋2001年1月至2022年8月間以英文發表與棒球投手的投球量有關之期刊論文，依系統性文獻回顧指南(PRISMA)進行文章篩選，並採用非隨機研究方法學指引(MINORS)進行研究方法品質風險評估。經篩選後共18篇相關文獻符合納入標準，與身體功能影響有關的10篇、與投球運動生物力學有關的8篇。根據本次文獻回顧，過去研究結果顯示，重複投球會導致棒球投手肩關節活動度改變及肌肉力量下降，並可能對投球運動的運動學和動力學產生影響，這些變化增加了肌肉骨骼損傷的風險，進而可能影響投球表現。建議未來研究應進一步針對未成年族群以及下肢生物力學特徵著手，以完善相關傷害預防和訓練指引，並藉此瞭解投球量在不同階段間的影響。

Researchers suggest that among the various factors influencing injuries among baseball players, the workload and volume associated with pitching have been identified as significant risk factor for athletes. It is crucial to thoroughly understand the biomechanical changes that occur in the throwing movement and how they affect pitchers as they accumulate pitch volume over time. This includes changes in biomechanics and physical performance. Therefore, the purpose of this current review primarily in two main aspects: (1) the effects of pitching volume on the physical functionality of pitchers, and (2) the influence of pitching volume on the biomechanical alterations in pitching motions. This study selected four electronic databases including Scopus, SPORTDiscus, MEDLINE, and PubMed to search for journal articles published in English between January 2001 to August 2022. We identified a total of 18 relevant articles that met our inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in this study: 10 studies regarding changes in physical functionality, and 8 studies regarding changes in pitching biomechanics. The interrelationship between kinematic changes and performance decline may be a potential factor in baseball pitcher injuries. With an increase in the number of pitches and innings pitched, performance tends to decline. Additionally, repeated pitching can cause changes in muscular strength, proprioception, and joint range of motion. Besides, kinematic and kinetic variations in pitching can affect the function of the kinetic chain's transmission, and those alterations may also result in increased joint and soft tissue loads. Besides, it is suggested that future research should further focus on the adolescent population or delve deeper into some biomechanic aspects of the lower limbs. This can contribute to injury prevention and training recommendations, providing a better understanding of the influences of repetitive pitching at different stages.