The injuries afflicting Major League Baseball pitchers have always been considered a byproduct of the sport; over time, wear and tear from accumulated innings and pitch counts causes injury. However, the word “epidemic” is on the rise and becoming synonymous with pitchers, and the injuries they sustain
This year alone, the MLB has seen 65 pitchers — starters and relief pitchers combined — across all 30 teams get sidelined by injuries. These pitchers include household names, such as the New York Yankee’s Masahiro Tanaka, New York Mets’ Matt Harvey, and the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Patrick Corbin, to name a few. With so many pitchers facing the setback that comes with the time required to heal these injuries, and healthy pitchers facing the threat of a potential arm injury, one has to ask, why isn’t more being done to address this issue? The MLB is a multi-billion dollar industry that is operating without a clear understanding of how to protect an integral player in the sport, or that player’s most valuable body part.
A recent trend in technology may well prove to be the solution to this rising problem in baseball. Digital holographic technology is gaining traction in multiple fields, from entertainment to medicine. In the entertainment world, concert-goers need only think of the use of holograms to create Elvis, Michael Jackson, Tupac, and bring them back to life on stage. In the medical world, the potential use of holography has more powerful implications. Holographic technology in sports medicine, for example, has far-reaching implications and could revolutionize the way athlete’s injuries are treated.
First, how does holographic technology work?
At its simplest, holograms build upon the use of a compilation of laser, diffraction, light intensity and illumination data in order to build a 3D replica of an image. Essentially, the technology makes a recording of a subject, and then reconstructs the same subject without the original’s presence. These three-dimensional reconstructions are completely precise and do not require the use of special visual aids to view.
Now, imagine if a doctor were to make the hologram of a healthy pitcher’s elbow, and an injured’s pitcher’s elbow; and view them together, from the inside and the outside, tracking the movement of the elbows as well as the internal workings of the muscles, ligaments, and bones. With this holographic technology, sports physicians could begin to understand what causes these specific injuries in the first place; and from there, begin to formulate a plan for how to prevent them.
This solution is not just important for the health of the players, but also for the sport’s bottom line. Imagine a day in which the MLB no longer has to worry about multi-million dollar players removed from the game due to injury. This potential solution to sports injuries is applicable across all sports, from the NFL to the NBA, as our understanding of the technology continues to grow.