Subscapularis Strain From Swinging a Baseball Bat in an Adolescent With Closed Physis

A healthy 16-year-old female baseball player was referred by her pediatrician for evaluation of pain in her right, dominant shoulder. The pain had begun insidiously 4 weeks previously after several sessions of batting practice and had worsened until she could not participate in baseball, even with low doses of ibuprofen. She was not participating in any other sports or weight lifting and had had no previous incidents of shoulder pain, but she did have a history of being able to voluntarily subluxate the right shoulder since she was a child. Her voluntary shoulder subluxation and reduction did not reproduce or worsen her pain. Results from her physical examination and radiographs were normal. Magnetic resonance imaging showed edema in the subscapularis muscle consistent with acute muscle strain. She was treated with 6 weeks of rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory medication as needed. She returned to baseball and hitting during the following 6 weeks with no limitations.