Development of Cooling-Down Methods for the Prevention of Circulatory Disorders in Baseball Pitchers

Abstract

Among sports injuries caused by pitching motion, preventive measures for circulatory disorders have not been sufficiently established. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the acute effects of icing performed after pitching on brachial hemodynamics in baseball pitchers. A pitching task consisting of 98 pitches was conducted with twelve university baseball pitchers, and two conditions were set: a control condition without icing treatment after pitching and an intervention condition with icing treatment. Subjective fatigue, shoulder external/internal rotation muscle strength, and brachial hemodynamic parameters were evaluated before and after pitching. The reactive hyperemia index （RHI） score, an indicator of endothelial function, was calculated to assess one of the brachial hemodynamics. No significant interaction between time and condition was observed for subjective fatigue and shoulder muscle strength. However, a significant interaction was found between the temporal changes in RHI scores and the presence or absence of icing treatment, with lower RHI scores on the following day observed in the condition with icing after pitching. The results of this study suggest the potential impact of icing after pitching on endothelial function. These findings are considered important fundamental insights for investigating cooling-down methods for preventing circulatory disorders in baseball pitchers.