A Dream of pitching in the World Series can drive a kid to do some risky things, and Dr. James Andrews has seen them all. The founder and medical director of the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) of Birmingham, Alabama, knows of kids who pitch on elite travel teams year-round. Even worse, some kids start working up a curveball. That elbow-mangling pitch spells disaster for anyone whose bones are still growing. "Overspecialization is the problem," says Andrews of these kids who seem to do nothing but hurl baseballs. "It causes what we call a youth baseball shoulder."
A handful of today's young players may take the mound in the major leagues someday. But far too many will end up with strained elbows and shoulders, stress fractures, even injuries requiring major corrective surgery. More than 3.5 million kids under 15 receive medical treatment for sports injuries each year, most often after collisions or falls. But by the time young athletes are in middle or high school, nearly half of their injuries result from the wear and tear of overuse.
In an effort to prevent painful overuse injuries, Little League Baseball and Softball recently announced new rules for the 2007 season. Until now, a player was allowed to pitch six innings per game, no matter how many pitches it took to get the job done. Under the new rules, pitchers 10 and younger will stop after 75 pitches. Those 11 and 12 are limited to 85 pitches per game. Andrews, New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina and other experts recommended these limits after Little League officials conducted two studies, and a pitch-count system was tested by hundreds of teams last season.
Blame it on Your Bones
Although injuries are a danger to athletes at any age, young people face
special risks because of their growing bones. Young bones generate new
tissue at spots called growth plates, located near the ends of most
bones (see Danger Zone). "The growth plate is actually at its most
vulnerable in the year before it closes," says Dr. Jon Divine, medical
director of the Sports Medicine Biodynamics Center at Cincinnati
Children's Hospital, in Ohio. In the teen years, a protective band of
tissue that supports the growth plate starts to break down so the bone
can completely harden by adulthood. Without that protective band, the
plate can be compressed too much, or even pulled apart.
Is Any Sport Safe?
Playing any sport year-round is likely to cause an overuse injury. But
it's also dangerous to play sports that put stress on the same body
parts. For example, swimming, water polo and volleyball put great strain
on the shoulders, so athletes wouldn't get a rest by switching between
those sports. A swimmer would be better off switching to biking, which
uses different muscles.
Kids may want to try yet another strategy for the off-season: having fun off the field. "We recommend that a young baseball thrower have two to three months off each calendar year to give the throwing arm a period of doing something else," says Andrews. Will playing tag with your sister get you to the World Series? Probably not. But taking a break from intense competition might keep you off the disabled list.
Keep Your Guard Up!
Remember, sports are supposed to be fun. Here are some guidelines for
avoiding those no-fun injuries.
Take a break
Kids who focus on a single sport need to take three months postseason to
recover, even if they're uninjured. The temptation to play year-round is
often great in sunny, warm states.
Mix it up
Switch from one sport to another during the year. Be sure to choose
activities that don't stress the same muscles and joints.
Deal with what you feel
Pain plus tenderness over a joint is often a sign of an overuse injury.
Any pain that lingers or interferes with performance should be evaluated
by a doctor.