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Baseball pitching requires fast and coordinated motions of the whole body to reach high ball speeds, putting considerable strain on the musculoskeletal system, particularly the shoulder and elbow. To describe musculoskeletal symptoms and the functional status of the shoulder and elbow in male high school baseball pitchers. Descriptive epidemiology study. Dutch baseball talent academies. One hundred twenty-five male high school baseball pitchers aged 12 to 18 years who participated in 1 of the 6 Dutch baseball talent academies and the Dutch National U-18 team were recruited and enrolled. Musculoskeletal symptoms, functional status of the shoulder and elbow were registered for each player every 6 months over 2 consecutive baseball seasons through self-assessment questionnaires, including the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic (KJOC) and the Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (WOSI) questionnaires. Five hundred seventy musculoskeletal (MSS) symptoms in 93 of the 125 players were reported. The average 6-month prevalence for symptoms of the throwing shoulder was 37% (95% CI = 33%–41%), and for the elbow 37% (95% CI = 31%–42%), followed by the lower back with 36% (95% CI = 26%–45%). The baseball pitchers who experienced only shoulder symptoms had an average KJOC score of 80.0 (95% CI = 75.3–84.7) points, whereas those with only elbow symptoms reported a score of 90.2 (95% CI = 89.2–95.3). On the WOSI questionnaire, baseball pitchers scored an average of 421.2 (95% CI = 200.1–642.4) points. In a cohort of Dutch high school baseball pitchers, one-third reported shoulder and elbow symptoms on the throwing side, with reduced functional status and lower back symptoms. Future efforts should focus on developing preventive strategies through early symptom detection, aiming to prevent symptom progression and, ultimately, the development of severe injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this study was to validate the Dutch version of the Quality of Life-Cancer Survivor (QOL-CS) questionnaire using a group of Dutch prostate cancer survivors. The QOL-CS was specifically designed to measure the quality of life of long-term cancer survivors. We performed a population-based, cohort study of 784 prostate cancer survivors who were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1994 and 1998. To determine the test-retest reliability, second questionnaires were sent to 109 participants, of whom 103 (94%) returned the forms. The quality of life in Dutch long-term prostate cancer survivors was adequately measured by the physical, psychological and social well-being subscale and can be used in order to measure the specific aspects of quality of life important to cancer survivors. However, as the subscale spiritual well-being showed a low internal consistency, which could be related to cultural background, it seems to be appropriate to evaluate the validity and reliability of the QOL-CS in other cultural settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]