Common Injuries | Treatment | Prevention
Adolescents ranging in age from 11–15 (early‐mid adolescence) comprise the largest percentage of baseball and softball athletes in the United States. Shoulder and elbow injuries are commonly experienced by these athletes with baseball pitchers and softball position players most likely to be injured.
Physeal injury often termed “Little League” shoulder or elbow is common and should be differentiated from soft tissue injuries such as biceps, rotator cuff, or UCL injuries. Regardless of diagnosis, rehabilitation of these athletes’ shoulder and elbow injuries provide a unique challenge given their rapidly changing physical status.
The basis for initial phase of treatment in the adolescent athlete with an overuse arm begins with relative or active rest. The stress of throwing is removed from the irritated tissue and treatments are implemented that are designed to decrease inflammation, gently increase ROM and flexibility, and support tissue healing. The sports medicine professional monitors the athlete’s response to the initial treatment and designs a program to restore necessary flexibility including joint mobilizations and gentle ROM.
Reintegration into the desired level of sport participation should be guided by the sports medicine professional with a focus on long‐term durability in sport performance as well as injury prevention. A prevention program which includes parent, coach, and athlete education, regular screening to identify those athletes at the highest risk, and monitoring athletes for the development of risk factors or warning signs of injury over the course of participation is indicated.
