Little Leaguer’s Elbow

Little Leaguer’s Elbow is known in the medical field as Medial Apophysitis. It is an injury that occurs from repetitive throwing in younger athletes. Those who throw overhead are at risk for this injury especially if they are pushing their body to the limit, through fatigue or throwing difficult pitches. When throwing there can be a large stress put on the inside of the elbow and the ligaments and tendons can pull away the bone. In younger athletes who are not fully developed this can lead to poor growth of their bones and even deformity.¹

Young athletes who begin to complain of pain on the inside of the elbow, have decreased movement of their elbows and/or even have locking of the elbow joint should immediately stop throwing and be evaluated by a health care professional (Physical Therapist, Orthopedic Physician). This condition can typically be treated without surgery. However, it is important for the younger athlete to rest and then to rebuild their muscles and restore their proper mechanics with throwing to reduce the risk of re-injury, or more serious injuries. ¹

Many athletes, I have seen in our clinic, that have Little Leaguer’s Elbow also have many other deficits.  Our philosophy at Sports PT is: if a patient is overusing their elbow, we want to find out what they are NOT using in order to reduce tension on the elbow when throwing.  When I evaluate a baseball player I will look not only at their elbow, but their shoulder, their shoulder blade, core strength, hip strength and range of motion, and more importantly look at how their body is working together as whole unit.  If we can help to correct these imbalances prior to returning to sport, the chances of re-injuring themselves will most likely be decreased.  Also it is important to note that the risk of suffering these “overuse injuries” can be significantly reduced with a proper post-season, off-season, and pre-season program to assist with improving mechanics, strength, and coordination throughout the body.

Often, our young athletes are asked to do “too much, too fast, too soon” and this can also lead to significant injuries.²

Little League Baseball has strict guidelines about pitch counts and rest periods that are imperative to follow in order to reduce the risk of injury. I am finding that many athletes in our area play in multiple leagues and these guidelines are not being followed. This is causing us to put our athletes at significant risk of injury.²

Here are Little League Baseball’s Guidelines²

MAXIMUM PITCH COUNT²

What I seem to be hearing and finding the most is that parents and coaches are pushing our young athletes too much. It is important to understand the dangers of pushing our children too hard and too fast. It is important that our children have time to rest – which can be a time they cross train and strengthen other areas of their body to support their ability to throw. It is also essential that parents, coaches, athletic trainers and others that work with young athletes identify the early signs of elbow pain (or pain in general) and DO NOT push through the pain and seek medical advice quickly.  Remember, if you have a physical therapist you have worked with in the past, by law you DO NOT need a PRESCRIPTION! If you are concerned of an injury, come and get evaluated!

1. OrthoInfo. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Throwing Injuries in the Elbow in Children. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00328 Accessed on 21 June 2012.

2. Stop Sports Injuries.  Baseball Injuries. http://www.stopsportsinjuries.org/files/pdf/AOSSM_Baseball.pdf Accessed on 21 June 2012.