While America’s favorite pastime is exciting to play, it can also cause some serious injuries.
According to the US Consumer Products Safety Commission, more than 627,000 baseball-related injuries are treated every year in hospitals, doctors’ offices, and other medical facilities.
The frequent throwing, bat-swinging, and catching high-speed balls involved in baseball can lead to a large variety of sports injuries, both cumulative (from overuse) and acute (from a sudden impact).
With baseball season in full swing, we’ve seen and treated quite a few shoulder, elbow, hand and wrist injuries.
Youth baseball pitching injuries, specifically, are on the rise, despite the implementation of nationally recommended pitching limits, according to a multicenter, national research study.
The American Orthopedic Society for Sports medicine sponsored the study and found the most prevalent reasons for arm pain and tiredness stems from five main causes:
1. Pitching for more than one team during the same season
2. Pitching more than one game during the same day
3. Pitching on back-to-back days
4. Pitching in a league without pitch counts or playing year-round
5. Throwing curve balls before high school
Specific injuries include:
SHOULDER:
· Bursitis
· Impingement syndrome (inflammation of the tendons of the rotator cuff)
· Rotator cuff tendonitis
· Shoulder instability (a loosening of the structures that keep the ball of the shoulder in the socket)
· Shoulder separation
· Tendonitis
· Torn rotator cuff
ELBOW:
· “Little leaguer’s elbow” (inflammation on the inner side of the elbow, common in pitchers age 16 and under; also called golfer’s elbow or medial epicondylitis)
· Tennis elbow (inflammation on the outside of the elbow, also called lateral epicondylitis)
· Medial elbow ligament tears (“Tommy John” surgery)
HAND OR WRIST:
· Finger fractures
· Bursitis
· Wrist sprains
· Wrist tendonitis
· Tenosynovitis (inflammation tendons on the thumb side of the wrist)
Texas Orthopedics wants everyone to enjoy baseball season, so listen to your body to avoid overuse injuries. .
