Fox Valley Orthopedics and Yankees Scout Say Too Many Pitches a Strikeout for Young Athletes

With high school games in full swing and little league around the corner, kids are daydreaming about fun on the baseball diamond this season. But a recent study suggests that those who want to play the game into adulthood, or professionally, ought to be aware: overplaying can lead to permanent injury to elbows and shoulders.

The American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM) study warns that young baseball pitchers ages 9 to 14 are 3.5 times more likely to be injured, and 5 percent are forced to “retire” if they’re playing more than 100 innings per year.

AJSM’s study followed 481 pitchers over a 10-year period. In addition to pitching concerns, the study suggests pitchers should avoid also playing catcher as it appears to increase a pitcher's risk of injury. Before their 13th birthday, two of the boys in the study had already had surgery.  

“Pitchers who throw too much are at greater risk for serious elbow and shoulder problems,” says Timothy S. Petsche, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the Fox Valley Orthopedic Institute who specializes in sports medicine. “Playing catcher requires long, hard throws to second or third base, creating additional stress on a thrower’s arm. And throwing curve balls before skeletal maturity is associated with increased injury rates to the throwing arm.”

The AJSM s study examined boys’ baseball playing habits, but the diversity of sports injuries far exceeds boys and baseball. America’s obsession with youth sports has led to a growing list of overuse injuries … and a falling overuse age. And many sufferers are girls, some as young as 8 years of age.

“Children have multiple growth centers in the elbow that are still open,” says Laura Marie Lemke, MD, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at the . “This is why it is crucial for children not to over do it in a sport. Their bones are at risk for a unique injury called growth plate fractures.”

As a scout for the New York Yankees, Steve Lemke, a Geneva resident, has some excellent advice for young hopefuls, their parents, and coaches.

“We look for well-rounded athletes who cross train,” says the Yankees scout. “Great baseball players shouldn’t be throwing the ball all year round. When I evaluate a potential baseball recruit, I go to see kids play other sports to look at their overall athletic ability."

Coaches and parents can play a vital role by ensuring moderation, diversity in sport, and proper playing technique. Fox Valley surgeons say children should never play on more than one team at a time, and they ought to play positions other than pitcher until they’re finished growing. Coaches should avoid playing the kids in the same positions all the time, or playing the best kids in order to win.

“Make sure there is adequate warm-up, and practice the proper mechanics in the sport,” says Dr. Lemke. “Children shouldn’t ignore pain when they throw a pitch. The more they continue to throw or work through the pain, the more stress it puts on the bone and joints, which could cause injuries that may require surgery.”

When there is pain that lasts a day or more, pain that will not go away, or loss of range of motion in a joint, it’s time to seek professional help, she added.

“The goal is to keep kids in the game,” says Dr. Lemke. “We need to all work together—parents, coaches, athletic trainers, and physicians – to educate our young athletes that acknowledging pain is not a sign of weakness; getting the pain checked by your doctor could be the very thing that keeps kids from retiring early from the game they love.”

ABOUT FOX VALLEY ORTHOPEDICS

 Fox Valley Orthopedics Institute was founded in 1973 in Geneva. Dedicated to the community, Fox Valley Orthopedics provides athletic trainers in many local high schools and is the official team physician group for the Kane County Cougars. The practice serves communities throughout Chicago with offices in Geneva, Elgin, and Naperville. For more information, go to www.fvortho.com.