{"id":635,"date":"2012-12-19T00:29:39","date_gmt":"2012-12-19T00:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/?page_id=635"},"modified":"2020-02-05T20:32:18","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T00:32:18","slug":"little-leaguers-elbow","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/little-leaguers-elbow\/","title":{"rendered":"Little Leaguer\u2019s Elbow"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is Little Leaguer\u2019s Elbow<\/h2>\n

Little Leaguer\u2019s Elbow is a childhood and adolescent condition involving the growth plate of the bone at the inner aspect of the humerus (arm bone) by the elbow.\u00a0 Repetitive overload stress causes inflammation and injury of this growth plate.\u00a0 This most commonly occurs with baseball pitching<\/a>.\u00a0 There are several muscles that control the forearm, wrist, and hand which attach to the bone at this growth plate, along with the medial collateral ligament of the elbow.\u00a0 When winding up and throwing a pitch these muscles and the medial collateral ligament are under significant tension and stress.\u00a0 The growth plate is the weakest link in this chain of structures.\u00a0 The growth plate will close when an adolescent becomes skeletally mature.<\/p>\n

Symptoms of Little Leaguer\u2019s Elbow<\/h2>\n

Pain at the inner aspect of the elbow is very common.\u00a0 The elbow pain<\/a> may be exacerbated with motion of the elbow and wrist.\u00a0 If continuing to pitch, there can be decreased velocity, accuracy, and distance, as well as greater injury.<\/p>\n

Common Causes of Little Leaguer\u2019s Elbow<\/h2>\n

As the name suggests, baseball pitching during childhood and adolescence is the primary cause of Little Leaguer\u2019s Elbow.<\/p>\n

Diagnosing Little Leaguer\u2019s Elbow<\/h2>\n

Discussion with the patient and parent to understand the level of competition, frequency of pitching, and number of pitches thrown per game and week is important not only for diagnostic reasons, but also for tailoring the rehabilitation regimen.\u00a0 A careful physical exam will also aid in diagnosis.\u00a0 An x-ray is obtained to evaluate for bony abnormalities, such as widening of the growth plate or stress fracture of the bone.<\/p>\n

Treatment of Little Leaguer\u2019s Elbow<\/h2>\n

The mainstay of treatment for Little Leaguer\u2019s Elbow is rest.\u00a0 A period of cooling down and not pitching allows the body to heal in most cases.\u00a0 A progressive rehabilitation regimen is instituted not only the elbow, but the entire upper extremity and to optimize pitching mechanics by addressing the core and lower extremities as well.\u00a0 Once a patient return to pitching, the frequency of pitching and pitch counts need to be maintained in an acceptable range for a patient\u2019s age to avoid re-injury in the future.\u00a0 If left untreated, Little Leaguer\u2019s Elbow can cause permanent bony deformity, pain, and ulnar nerve irritation, requiring surgery.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

With many children pitching with greater frequency throughout the year there is increasing prevalence of Little Leaguer\u2019s Elbow.\u00a0 Early treatment is important to allow quicker recovery and to improve pitching mechanics.\u00a0 Call Dr. Pruzansky at 212-249-8700 to schedule an appointment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is Little Leaguer\u2019s Elbow Little Leaguer\u2019s Elbow is a childhood and adolescent condition involving the growth plate of the bone at the inner aspect of the humerus (arm bone) by the elbow.\u00a0 Repetitive overload stress causes inflammation and injury of this growth plate.\u00a0 This most commonly occurs with baseball pitching.\u00a0 There are several muscles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/635"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/635\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}