Surgical management may be effective for thoracic outlet syndrome in baseball players
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Key takeaways:
- Surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome yielded positive outcomes for professional baseball players.
- Position players and pitchers who underwent surgery had high rates of return to play at the same or higher level.
Results showed professional baseball players who underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome had high rates of return to play at the same or higher level, with no performance drop-off for pitchers who underwent surgery vs. controls.
Researchers used the Major League Baseball Health and Injury Tracking System database to analyze outcomes of 52 players (46 pitchers) who underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome between 2010 and 2017. Researchers compared performance of the surgical cohort vs. matched controls with no history of surgery on their throwing arm.
According to the study, 36 players had neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome; 15 players had venous thoracic outlet syndrome; and one player had arterial thoracic outlet syndrome.
Among the surgical cohort, 79% of players returned to play at the same or higher level at a mean of 9.5 months and played at least 3 more years after surgery. Researchers noted no differences in return to sport rates between players with different types of thoracic outlet syndrome or major vs. minor league players.
Among pitchers in the surgical cohort, 76% returned to play at the same or higher level. Researchers noted this rate was similar to the natural attrition rate of pitchers in the control cohort (P = .874). Researchers also noted pitchers in the surgical cohort recorded declines in several performance metrics. However, the declines were similar vs. pitchers in the control cohort.
“[Thoracic outlet syndrome] has become an increasingly recognized cause of pain and dysfunction in professional baseball players, although arriving at the diagnosis can be challenging,” the researchers wrote in the study. “Our study shows that surgery can help prolong a player’s career,” they concluded.
Collapse
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts