My arm hurts

Arm Pain in Young Baseball Players is Common, Preventable

With baseball season underway, let’s talk about arm pain in kids playing summer baseball.

A questionnaire completed by 203 players from New York and New Jersey between the ages of 8 and 18 was performed, led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers, and published in the online edition of the American Journal of Sports Medicine. Among the survey’s findings was that 74 percent of players reported having arm pain while throwing (answering that they “always,” “often,” “sometimes,” or “rarely” experienced arm pain).  Just 26 percent said they “never” had arm pain while throwing.

The study also found that:

• 80 percent reported having arm pain the day after throwing.
• 82 percent reported arm fatigue during a game or practice.
• 54 percent reported that arm pain limited the number of innings they could play.
• 75 percent reported that arm pain limited how hard they could throw.

Pitchers, compared with infielders and outfielders, were especially likely to have played with pain.  One-quarter of pitchers reported that they “often” or “always” had pain the day after throwing.

Younger children tend to respond better to nonsurgical treatments such as:

• Rest. Decreasing the stress on the elbow/shoulder remains the first line of treatment.
• Apply ice packs to control pain and swelling. Do not put ice directly on the skin.
• If pain persists after a few days of complete rest of the affected area, or if pain recurs when throwing is resumed, stop the activity again until the child gets treatment.
• Refine throwing technique.
• When practicing focus on proper stretching, warming up, cooling down and resting arms to prevent overuse.
• Adhere to pitch counts and days of rest between pitching
  • The number of pitches a child can safely throw daily in a game depends on the child’s age. Generally speaking, the recommended maximum number of pitches is:
    • • 50 for children ages 7 to 8 years
      • 75 for children ages 9 to 10 years
      • 85 for children ages 11 to 12 years
      • 95 for children ages 13 to 16 years
      • 105 for children and young adults ages 17 to 18
• Don’t forget leg and core strength. A significant percentage of throwing velocity comes from the legs and core and a strong core can protect the shoulder and elbow from injury.

Like hydration, if you only start hydrating on the day of an event then you are already behind.  Preventing arm pain starts before the game itself with planning and treatment.  This is a focus on mechanics, conditioning, stretching, icing, and anti-inflammatory medications when needed.  Throwers need to develop a good pre workout and post work out routine to care for their arms.  This is especially true as players start to physically mature and the muscles strengthen faster than the bones can mature.

Please read more:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5825337/

https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/throwing-injuries-in-the-elbow-in-children/

https://www.sportsmed.org/membership/sports-medicine-update/spring-2024/throwing-injuries-softball-baseball