Biomechanical Insights and Imaging Features of Cricket-Specific Injuries

Abstract

Cricket, a globally renowned sport, requires a unique interplay of repetitive and high-intensity movements, rendering players susceptible to a broad spectrum of musculoskeletal injuries. This review delves into the biomechanical principles underpinning common cricket-related injuries and the pivotal role of magnetic resonance imaging in their diagnosis and management. With a primary focus on the shoulder, elbow, wrist, torso, and lumbar spine, the discussion encompasses injury mechanisms, adaptive biomechanical changes, and associated pathologies, such as internal impingement, labral tears, nondominant wrist injuries, and stress fractures (spondylolysis). The integration of biomechanical analysis with advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques facilitates early and accurate diagnosis while optimizing therapeutic interventions, thereby enhancing player recovery and extending athletic longevity.

Keywords

peel-back tear - Bennet lesion - spondylolysis - side strain - superior labrum anterior to posterior tear

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. Juli 2025

• References

• 1 Orchard J, James T, Alcott E, Carter S, Farhart P. Injuries in Australian cricket at first class level 1995/1996 to 2000/2001. Br J Sports Med 2002; 36 (04) 270-274 ; discussion 275
• 2 Orchard JW, James T, Portus MR. Injuries to elite male cricketers in Australia over a 10-year period. J Sci Med Sport 2006; 9 (06) 459-467
• 3 Weber AE, Kontaxis A, O'Brien SJ, Bedi A. The biomechanics of throwing: simplified and cogent. Sports Med Arthrosc Rev 2014; 22 (02) 72-79
• 4 Vad VB, Gebeh A, Dines D, Altchek D, Norris B. Hip and shoulder internal rotation range of motion deficits in professional tennis players. J Sci Med Sport 2003; 6 (01) 71-75
• 5 Braun S, Kokmeyer D, Millett PJ. Shoulder injuries in the throwing athlete. J Bone Joint Surg Am 2009; 91 (04) 966-978
• 6 Lin DJ, Wong TT, Kazam JK. Shoulder Injuries in the overhead-throwing athlete: epidemiology, mechanisms of injury, and imaging findings. Radiology 2018; 286 (02) 370-387
• 7 Jobe CM. Posterior superior glenoid impingement: expanded spectrum. Arthroscopy 1995; 11 (05) 530-536
• 8 Walch G, Liotard JP, Boileau P, Noël E. Postero-superior glenoid impingement. Another shoulder impingement. [in French]. Rev Chir Orthop Repar Appar Mot 1991; 77 (08) 571-574
• 9 Walch G, Boileau P, Noel E, Donell ST. Impingement of the deep surface of the supraspinatus tendon on the posterosuperior glenoid rim: an arthroscopic study. J Shoulder Elbow Surg 1992; 1 (05) 238-245
• 10 Glousman R, Jobe F. Anterior shoulder instability, impingement, and rotator cuff tear: anterior and multidirectional glenohumeral instability. In: Jobe FW. ed. Operative Techniques in Upper Extremity Sports Injuries. St. Louis, MO: Mosby-Year Book; 1996: 191-210
• 11 Giaroli EL, Major NM, Higgins LD. MRI of internal impingement of the shoulder. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2005; 185 (04) 925-929
• 12 Fessa CK, Peduto A, Linklater J, Tirman P. Posterosuperior glenoid internal impingement of the shoulder in the overhead athlete: pathogenesis, clinical features and MR imaging findings. J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol 2015; 59 (02) 182-187
• 13 Payne LZ, Altchek DW, Craig EV, Warren RF. Arthroscopic treatment of partial rotator cuff tears in young athletes. A preliminary report. Am J Sports Med 1997; 25 (03) 299-305
• 14 Burkhart SS, Morgan CD, Kibler WB. The disabled throwing shoulder: spectrum of pathology Part I: pathoanatomy and biomechanics. Arthroscopy 2003; 19 (04) 404-420
• 15 Burkhart SS, Morgan CD. The peel-back mechanism: its role in producing and extending posterior type II SLAP lesions and its effect on SLAP repair rehabilitation. Arthroscopy 1998; 14 (06) 637-640
• 16 Snyder SJ, Karzel RP, Del Pizzo W, Ferkel RD, Friedman MJ. SLAP lesions of the shoulder. Arthroscopy 1990; 6 (04) 274-279
• 17 Pieper HG. Humeral torsion in the throwing arm of handball players. Am J Sports Med 1998; 26 (02) 247-253
• 18 Sweitzer BA, Thigpen CA, Shanley E. et al. A comparison of glenoid morphology and glenohumeral range of motion between professional baseball pitchers with and without a history of SLAP repair. Arthroscopy 2012; 28 (09) 1206-1213
• 19 O'Connell PW, Nuber GW, Mileski RA, Lautenschlager E. The contribution of the glenohumeral ligaments to anterior stability of the shoulder joint. Am J Sports Med 1990; 18 (06) 579-584
• 20 O'Brien SJ, Schwartz RS, Warren RF, Torzilli PA. Capsular restraints to anterior-posterior motion of the abducted shoulder: a biomechanical study. J Shoulder Elbow Surg 1995; 4 (04) 298-308
• 21 McMahon PJ, Tibone JE, Cawley PW. et al. The anterior band of the inferior glenohumeral ligament: biomechanical properties from tensile testing in the position of apprehension. J Shoulder Elbow Surg 1998; 7 (05) 467-471
• 22 Gehrmann RM, DeLuca PF, Bartolozzi AR. Humeral avulsion of the glenohumeral ligament caused by microtrauma to the anterior capsule in an overhand throwing athlete: a case report. Am J Sports Med 2003; 31 (04) 617-619
• 23 Sugalski MT, Hyman JE, Ahmad CS. Avulsion fracture of the lesser tuberosity in an adolescent baseball pitcher: a case report. Am J Sports Med 2004; 32 (03) 793-796
• 24 Powell GM, Murthy NS, Johnson AC. Radiographic and MRI assessment of the thrower's elbow. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med 2021; 14 (03) 214-223
• 25 Werner SL, Fleisig GS, Dillman CJ, Andrews JR. Biomechanics of the elbow during baseball pitching. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1993; 17 (06) 274-278
• 26 Patel RM, Lynch TS, Amin NH, Calabrese G, Gryzlo SM, Schickendantz MS. The thrower's elbow. Orthop Clin North Am 2014; 45 (03) 355-376
• 27 Hammond J, Cole BJ. Elbow injuries and the throwing athlete. In: Orthopaedic Knowledge Update: Shoulder and Elbow 4. In: Biermann JS, Siegel GW. , eds. Rosemont, IL: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; 2013. :Chapter 40
• 28 Wong TT, Lin DJ, Ayyala RS, Kazam JK. Elbow injuries in adult overhead athletes. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2017; 208 (03) W110-W120
• 29 Wo S, Mulcahy H, Richardson ML. et al. Pathologies of the shoulder and elbow affecting the overhead throwing athlete. Skeletal Radiol 2017; 46 (07) 873-888
• 30 Pearce McCarty III L. Approach to medial elbow pain in the throwing athlete. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med 2019; 12 (01) 30-40
• 31 Bucknor MD, Stevens KJ, Steinbach LS. Elbow imaging in sport: Sports Imaging Series. Radiology 2016; 279 (01) 12-28
• 32 Collins MS, Tiegs-Heiden CA. Osteochondral lesions of the lateral trochlear ridge: a rare, subtle but important finding on advanced imaging in patients with elbow pain. Skeletal Radiol 2020; 49 (04) 593-599
• 33 Patel NB, Thomas S, Lazarus ML. Throwing injuries of the upper extremity. Radiol Clin North Am 2013; 51 (02) 257-277
• 34 Benjamin HJH, Briner Jr WW. Little League elbow. Clin J Sport Med 2005; 15 (01) 37-40
• 35 Ouellette H, Kassarjian A, Tétreault P, Palmer W. Imaging of the overhead throwing athlete. Semin Musculoskelet Radiol 2005; 9 (04) 316-333
• 36 af Ekenstam FW, Palmer AK, Glisson RR. The load on the radius and ulna in different positions of the wrist and forearm. A cadaver study. Acta Orthop Scand 1984; 55 (03) 363-365
• 37 Rettig AC. Athletic injuries of the wrist and hand. Part I: Traumatic injuries of the wrist. Am J Sports Med 2003; 31 (06) 1038-1048
• 38 Bachoura A, Wroblewski A, Jacoby SM, Osterman AL, Culp RW. Hook of hamate fractures in competitive baseball players. Hand (N Y) 2013; 8 (03) 302-307
• 39 Alemohammad AM, Nakamura K, El-Sheneway M, Viegas SF. Incidence of carpal boss and osseous coalition: an anatomic study. J Hand Surg Am 2009; 34 (01) 1-6
• 40 Pardiwala DN, Rao NN, Varshney AV. Injuries in cricket. Sports Health 2018; 10 (03) 217-222
• 41 Connell DA, Jhamb A, James T. Side strain: a tear of internal oblique musculature. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2003; 181 (06) 1511-1517
• 42 Varada SL, Popkin CA, Hecht EM. et al. Athletic injuries of the thoracic cage. Radiographics 2021; 41 (02) E20-E39
• 43 Nealon AR, Kountouris A, Cook JL. Side strain in sport: a narrative review of pathomechanics, diagnosis, imaging and management for the clinician. J Sci Med Sport 2017; 20 (03) 261-266
• 44 Leone A, Cianfoni A, Cerase A, Magarelli N, Bonomo L. Lumbar spondylolysis: a review. Skeletal Radiol 2011; 40 (06) 683-700
• 45 Kountouris A, Sims K, Beakley D. et al. MRI bone marrow oedema precedes lumbar bone stress injury diagnosis in junior elite cricket fast bowlers. Br J Sports Med 2019; 53 (19) 1236-1239
• 46 Ranson CA, Kerslake RW, Burnett AF, Batt ME, Abdi S. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine in asymptomatic professional fast bowlers in cricket. J Bone Joint Surg Br 2005; 87 (08) 1111-1116
• 47 Orchard J, Farhart P, Kountouris A, James T, Portus M. Pace bowlers in cricket with history of lumbar stress fracture have increased risk of lower limb muscle strains, particularly calf strains. Open Access J Sports Med 2010; 1: 177-182
• 48 Orchard JW, Blanch P, Paoloni J. et al. Cricket fast bowling workload patterns as risk factors for tendon, muscle, bone and joint injuries. Br J Sports Med 2015; 49 (16) 1064-1068
• 49 Pollock N, James SL, Lee JC, Chakraverty R. British Athletics Muscle Injury Classification: a new grading system. Br J Sports Med 2014; 48 (18) 1347-1351
• 50 Rubin DA. Imaging diagnosis and prognostication of hamstring injuries. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2012; 199 (03) 525-533
• 51 Pedret C. Hamstring muscle injuries: MRI and ultrasound for diagnosis and prognosis. J Belg Soc Radiol 2022; 105 (01) 91