By Kyle Stack

Special to amNewYork

Baseball isn’t thought of as a contact sport, but its 162-game grind presents a consistent barrage of injury concerns. With help from Will Carroll, a senior writer for Baseball Prospectus who specializes in sports injuries, here is a rundown of three common afflictions:

Oblique strain

Pitchers are typically more susceptible than hitters. The strain is most irritable to pitchers when it’s on the side of their body opposite their throwing arm, according to Carroll.

One might suspect weak core muscles as the culprit, but Carroll disputes that theory.

“Some players do have weak cores, but if that was the case, we should be seeing a ton of these in high school or college, where you would assume you have lesser athletes,” Carroll said.

Rest is considered the most successful remedy, but one popular new treatment is called platelet-rich plasma therapy. In this procedure, blood is taken from the patient and spun in a centrifuge that separates red blood cells from the platelets which release protein. That mixture is then injected into the affected area. While its long-term effectiveness is still unknown, the treatment is not restricted to oblique injuries.

Forearm strain

It’s been reasoned that the split-finger pitch resulted in a higher percentage of pitchers developing these strains.

“Just do the motion yourself and you can feel the flexor mass kind of stretch,” Carroll said. “You can feel it all the way into the bicep.”

Hitters aren’t immune to forearm strains, either. Position players at “quick throw” positions, such as catchers and shortstops, are at greater risk. The short amount of time between fielding the ball and whipping it to the desired bag can result in contorted throwing motions. Shoulder strains are also associated with this urgent throwing style.

Outfielders are less prone to this type of injury since they have time to rush to a ball, field it, set and throw.

The recovery timeline for the injury ranges from two to six weeks on the low end to three months for the most severe cases, which are associated with pitchers.

“A lot of that [recovery period] is the pitcher getting back into pitching shape,” Carroll said.

Torn hip labrum

New MRI technologies have brought more clarity to this injury, which has often been confused with a groin pull.

“We haven’t had the diagnostic technology [to properly identify it],” Carroll said. “How many years have athletes been treated for a groin strain when in fact they had a hip labrum tear?”

The labrum — a ring of cartilage around the hip socket — acts as a cushion and adds stability, much in the way a gasket does in a car, Carroll said. Players are at most risk when the labrum is over-twisted, or when hip flexors become extremely tight.

Since last season, a rash of high-profile hip labrum tears (and ensuing surgeries performed primarily by Dr. Marc Philippon of Vail, Colo.) has shed light on the recovery timetable.

Mike Lowell underwent surgery last October, but the 35-year-old returned quickly and has looked revitalized with 28 RBIs through 31 games this season. Chase Utley and Alex Rodriguez returned to play well ahead of their initially planned schedules, and Alex Gordon is currently on track to return on time.

Carroll said he is surprised at the overall aggressiveness of the rehab process.

“Two hours after surgery, these guys are riding a stationary bike,” Carroll said. “[The surgery] works.”

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