Glenn Fleisig, PhD, of the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Ala., led a study that found young boys who pitch more than 100 innings in a season are 3.5 times more likely to undergo elbow or shoulder surgery or retire because of an injury, according to a report published in MedPage Today.
For 10 years, the researchers followed 481 male pitchers with ages ranging from 9-14 years. Only 2.2 percent of the participants were still pitching at the final year of the study. During the study, three boys had elbow surgery, seven had shoulder surgery and 14 stopped pitching as a result of s throwing injury.
The only significant risk factor that the study found was the pitchers throwing more than 100 pitches during the season. There was also an increased likelihood of serious injury among boys who played both pitcher and catcher during the study period.
Read the MedPage Today report on the study of throwing injuries.
Read other coverage of sports medicine studies:
- 8 New Studies Impacting Sports Medicine
- Study: Bony Fixation Anchor Tenodesis Best for Long Head Bicep Tendon Lesions
- Study Finds Collagen-Producing Cells Heal Patients Faster Than Only Plasma for Tendinopathy
For 10 years, the researchers followed 481 male pitchers with ages ranging from 9-14 years. Only 2.2 percent of the participants were still pitching at the final year of the study. During the study, three boys had elbow surgery, seven had shoulder surgery and 14 stopped pitching as a result of s throwing injury.
The only significant risk factor that the study found was the pitchers throwing more than 100 pitches during the season. There was also an increased likelihood of serious injury among boys who played both pitcher and catcher during the study period.
Read the MedPage Today report on the study of throwing injuries.
Read other coverage of sports medicine studies:
- 8 New Studies Impacting Sports Medicine
- Study: Bony Fixation Anchor Tenodesis Best for Long Head Bicep Tendon Lesions
- Study Finds Collagen-Producing Cells Heal Patients Faster Than Only Plasma for Tendinopathy