Prevention of Little League Elbow in Young Athletes

Prevention of Little League Elbow in Young Athletes

 

One of the biggest injuries that adolescents suffer from during this time of year is little league elbow. Little league elbow can be best defined as an overuse injury that causes medial epicondylitis  and most of the time, irritation to the Ulnar Nerve as well. This injury is normally something you will see in young athletes and it is prevalent in athletes around the ages of 12 to 14. The athlete we most commonly see with this is pitchers, hence the nickname little league elbow.

Some might ask … Why do we see this injury so early? There are many reasons why this happens in youth athletes. You see, now more than ever, parents are putting their children in multiple leagues or sports rather than giving the body time to recover. Some kids are pitching a few days a week in their little league games rather than having a rotation like in college and the pros. The worst thing you can do for your child is make him pitch in numerous leagues and numerous times a week. There is fall ball, summer ball and your spring season; all of which require proper recovery time. If you have an athlete with what is classified as an overuse injury and you continue to stress the body without giving it any time to improve, chances are it will continue to worsen. These chances are amplified by the fact that these athletes are still growing and are not ready for the pressure being put on the elbow joint.  

The coaches should be aware if they have players in numerous leagues so they know if they are going to burn out their players or not. Also, the parents must be aware of the pitch count so they can allow the athlete to play without hurting them.

Little league elbow is very easy to slow down and prevent. You MUST make sure your athlete understands how this injury occurred in the first place and what is happening right now with the injury. They must be aware what they did to make this worse so that it can prevent future injuries. You don't want to immobilize the elbow because then you run the risk of having a young athlete who is still growing with a permanently stiff elbow. Something that is very key in any injury, but specifically these cases, is that you must make sure your athlete is not losing their range of motion. You can restore and keep working on their range of motion without having them throw.

 

The following are some ways to help prevent Little League Elbow:

1)                  You can put a pitch count on your athlete, which is what a lot of the leagues require now so you don't have the athlete stress their elbow too much.  80 to 100 pitches a week is about what they should not go over.

2)                  Keep in mind the different types of pitches they throw. Pitches such as curve balls and sliders put a lot of stress on the elbow. Cutting back on them will help to preserve their arm.

3)                  Make sure your pitcher is practicing good form. The littlest tweak in their pitching form can make all the difference between injury or not.

4)                  Seek proper strength training for your youth athlete. Unfortunately not all training places are created equally. Find a place that understands youth athletes and does not overload the already overstressed body parts.

 

 

All and all, Little league elbow is very preventable in young athletes. It's simple to limit their pitches per week, watch their mechanics so they are throwing properly, and rest them when they have a heavy workload during the week. These are just 3 easy tips to keep your pitcher out on the field in the long run rather than in the stands or even worse the training room for weeks at a time.