We have all heard of the term “little leaguers elbow,” but what does it really mean? It’s a term for the various pediatric elbow disorders that can result from overuse and poor mechanics with throwing. What you may not know, is that repetitive stress to the growth plate in the elbow of young baseball players, caused by the throwing motion can lead to significant injury.
Between the ages of 9-15, children are still growing and the bones are susceptible to this repetitive load. This is mostly since the growth plate and bone is weaker than the ligaments and tendon/muscles that attach to the bone. Specifically, the medial epicondyle is the last physes at the elbow to close (10-14 years of age).
Unfortunately, once the growth plate matures, ligament and tendon injuries are much more common, as is seen in adult and professional baseball players.
Athletes require a strong core, hip stability, scapular stability, rotator cuff strength and endurance in the muscles. At a young age, most if not all of these are not finely tuned yet, contributing to the stress on the elbow.
One of the top Physical Therapist and researches in our field, Kevin Wilk, who works with many pro athletes states the best way to avoid arm injuries in youth overhead athletes is: pitch counts, rest with no year round pitching, endurance (not pitching when tired, proper conditioning (PT!) and proper neuromuscular control and mechanics.
Below are the suggested pitching guidelines that all levels of baseball can follow.
There are many clinical signs that may be present that indicate your child may already have an injury or are susceptible to injury. As mentioned briefly, there is a lot more that goes into throwing than just the shoulder and elbow.
Did you know that we have PTs who specialize in Pediatric Physical Therapy? If your son or daughter plays an overhead sport, and you are unsure if they are safe or a susceptible for injury, have them come in and see us at Fitzgerald PT! Learn more now.
*We are proudly affiliated with Boston Children’s Hospital
