Jun 28, 2008 6:46 pm US/Mountain
Study: Young Pitchers Are Ruining Their Arms
DENVER (CBS4) ―
A new study showed an increasing number of youth baseball players are permanently injuring their arms. The reason is they are playing and training year-round, according to the study.
Mainly 10-, 11-, and 12-year-olds, who are still growing, are damaging their growth plates in their arms as well as damaging ligaments.
"Permanent means permanent," CBS4 Medical Editor Dr. Dave Hnida said. "They will never be able to play catch with their kids."
Years ago, children played three to four sports and it wasn't always organized. Now adult coaches want kids to pick one sport and practice it year round. It's a trend that's causing lifelong damage to growing arms.
For Patrick Turlow, baseball is more than fun and games.
"Practice, practice, practice, practice; that's all I ever do every day," Turlow said.
Like millions of other young players, all that time on the field is putting him at risk. The American Sports Medicine Institute says in recent years, six-times more children have developed serious shoulder and elbow injuries.
"One of the recommendations is to play a throwing sport only nine months of the year, and take at least three months off," orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Gladstone said.
Stretching before a workout and supervised weight training can also reduce risk .
"So nine months of sport, then three months off," Hnida said. "And during those months of play, throwing needs to be limited to less than 100 pitches per week."
(© MMVIII CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
