Baseball Induced Eye Injuries

Baseball is the leading cause of sports-related eye injuries in young persons. In order to reduce the risk of eye, head, and chest injuries from baseball impact, manufacturers have developed softer baseballs. A pilot study has been performed to evaluate the increase or decrease in risk of eye injuries from softer baseballs. An artificial orbit was designed to hold human cadaver eyes and measure the orbital contact force from a baseball impact. Preliminary results suggest that although the softer baseballs intrude into the orbit further than hard baseballs, the contact forces are significantly reduced and therefore do not increase the risk of eye injuries as compared to the standard hard baseballs. Additional research will clarify the exact change in risk of eye injury from hard to soft baseballs.

REFERENCES:

Vinger, P.F., Duma, S.M., Crandall, J.R., "Baseball Hardness as a Risk Factor for Eye Injuries," Archives of Ophthalmology, Vol. 117, pp. 354-358, 1999.

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Virginia Tech / Wake Forest University Center for Injury Biomechanics