title: Stress Fractures of the First Rib Related to Swinging of a Baseball Bat: Two Case Reports.
abstract: Stress fractures of the first rib are uncommon, and few reports have described the occurrence of this injury in overhead-throwing athletes. Furthermore, although there have been a few reports of first rib stress fractures on the throwing side in baseball players, fractures on the nonthrowing side are very rare. Here, we report 2 cases of first rib stress fractures on the nonthrowing side related to swinging of a baseball bat. The cause of the fractures in the present cases may have been repetitive traction and shear force on the first rib resulting from muscle exertion while swinging a bat. Conservative treatment that considered the mechanism of stress fractures resulted in a symptom-free and complication-free return to baseball. The patient's background should be considered for an accurate understanding of the injury mechanism, adequate conservative therapeutic plan, and a successful return to baseball.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawashima
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Terabayashi
authors.forename: Takaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyagawa
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Iori
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Takigami
authors.forename: Kazu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Haruhiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akiyama
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001484:Baseball / Q000293:injuries*; D015775:Fractures, Stress / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008297:Male; D012253:Rib Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed