Overuse Blamed for Alarming Increase in "Tommy John" Elbow Surgery In Young Athletes, notes top Sports Medicine expert

The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine held its annual meeting recently in Orlando, Florida, and released an alarming study by one of the country's top sports docs: 'Tommy John' surgery, surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow, is up in kids...and all due to overuse!

I'm sure you've heard the phrase 'Tommy John surgery" but are likely not exactly sure what it is except that it has to do with any elbow. The elbow joins the upper arm to the lower arm with a very major ligament: the ulnar collateral ligament or UCL. The UCL is actually quite small but is responsible for our elbows' stability and is needed for any throwing or swinging action. During a Tommy John surgery, the damaged UCL is replaced with a healthy tendon from another part of the body. The surgery was named for MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Tommy John who was the first athlete to successfully have this surgery.

Dr. E. Lyle Cain, co-author of the study and one of the country's top sports medicine experts who practices out of The American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, noted that this injury used to be rare in kids. As he told the AOSSM:

“Before 1997 this surgery was performed on only 12 of 97 patients who were 18 or younger (12%)."

The stats today are very different:

“In 2005 alone, 62 of the 188 operations performed, were on high school athletes, a third of the surgical group. The reality is that this surgery is successful (83% get better and return to sports) and that’s good. But a disturbing trend of younger kids needing the surgery is troubling. This should be a wake-up call to parents and coaches that specialization in baseball where kids don’t get adequate time off is very dangerous.”

I agree with Dr. Cain that having a successful surgery and focusing on the fact that we can fix the injury avoids the real problem. the real problem is that the injury is occurring in young children to begin with. The real injury is this is a major injury and it is occurring in young and growing children. And, the real problem is this entire situation is avoidable!! As Dr. Cain notes, these young athletes are injuring their UCLs from over-use and early specialization. If we stop pushing our kids too hard, too young, their bodies will not be enduring the strain causing this devastating injury.

Dr. Cain gave three quotes to HealthDay that put this injury in proper perspective:

1. "Sports specialization at a young age encourages overuse...The bodies of athletes have no chance to rest and recover."

2. "There's no question that this comes from specialization in single sports....Even 10 to 15 years ago, it was uncommon for a young athlete to pick one sport at a young age and focus on that sport."

3. "We should encourage young kids and athletes to cross train....There's no good reason for an 8-year-old child to play baseball year-round and specialize in baseball."

Here's my challenge to you. If your child falls into this group of year-round sports kids in whatever sport they play, just say no at some point in the upcoming school year. There will be some initial drama and friction but I promise you that once your child sees there is life outside of that sport, you will actually see a healthier child emerge from the sports bubble that had recently blinded him or her to the rest of childhood and activities as yet undiscovered. 

Where should you start? Start by keeping the sport during the season it was meant to be played in. For the other seasons, do something different. Have a strict policy of one team sport per season and make sure your kids have free play time and a nonsport activity each and every season. This is the formula every child needs to begin to have a more balanced, and healthy, childhood.

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