*David H. Janda, M.D., +Richard Maguire, *Derek Mackesy, M.D., #Richard J. Hawkins, M.D., $Peter Fowler, M.D., and ||Joel Boyd, M.D.
* Orthopaedic Surgery Associates and Institute for Preventative Sports Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan; + Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania; # Steadman-Hawkins Clinic and American Shoulder and Elbow Society, Vail, Colorado, U.S.A.; $ Section of Sports Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; and || Orthopaedic Consultants, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.

ABSTRACT:
Over 40 million individuals nationally participate in organized softball and baseball leagues playing an estimated 23 million games a year in the United States. It has also been estimated that softball and baseball injuries are two of the leading sports-related causes of Emergency Room visits in the United States. Previous studies have elucidated that sliding is responsible for over 70% of all recreational softball injuries. In addition, break-away bases which have been utilized in recreational softball leagues have resulted in 98% reduction in injuries and a 99% reduction in acute health care costs. An independent analysis has determined that the utilization of break-away bases has the potential of preventing 1.7 million injuries a year in the United States with a savings of $2 billion a year nationally in health care costs. To date, utilization of break-away bases has not been explored within the highest echelon of competitive baseball. In this study, 19 teams within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and professional minor league baseball utilized break away bases for two consecutive seasons. Four hundred ninety-eight games were played on stationary bases and ten sliding-related injuries were documented. Of the ten injuries, three injuries were sustained to the knee and seven injuries to the ankle. The same teams played 486 games on break-away bases with two sliding-related injuries. Therefore, one injury was documented every 243 games on break-away bases, which translates into 0.41 injuries every 100 games on break-away bases. In regard to the stationary base injuries, one injury occurred every 49.8 games which translates into 2.01 injuries every 100 games. Therefore, an 80% reduction (p < 0.05) was noted in the high performance baseball population utilizing break-away bases. The use of break away bases decreases the number and severity of baseball- and softball-related injuries, both at the recreational level and the high-performance level. Break away bases are cost effective and safer than standard stationary bases. In the recreational and high-performance baseball populations, the use of break-away bases should be mandatory.

Key Words: Baseball - Bases - Sliding injury rate.

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