Why does the number of youth baseball injuries continue to rise? Youth baseball organizations, especially Little League and USA Baseball [1], have been looking for answers for years, and, in recent years, have established pitching rules and guidelines in the hope of stemming the epidemic of elbow and shoulder injuries suffered by pitchers in youth baseball.
Young pitchers are very susceptible to shoulder and elbow injuries from throwing too many pitches in a game, in a week, and in a season. The Little League pitch limit and rest rules [2] enacted in 2007, and revised for 2010 [3], are supposed to reduce the risk of such overuse injuries. While some advocate limiting or prohibiting the throwing of curveballs and sliders at a young age, recent studies suggest that they actually may put less strain on a pitcher's arm than fastballs. Working together, parents, medical, and sports organizations have made some progress in reducing the risk of arm injuries in youth baseball.
So far, though, no one has addressed the "elephant in the room." While parents, coaches, and organizations are doing a great job looking at parts of the problem to reduce risk of injury, the big question, which remains unanswered, is not "What we are doing?" but more about the youth sports culture: "What have we become?"
Years ago, young athletes would play a variety of sports, go on vacations with the family, and have months for an "off season." Nowadays, it is not unusual to see a 10-year-old playing 100+ baseball games in the summer, cramming in $60 personal training sessions 2 times a week, hitting and pitching lessons 3 times a week, and then squeeze in some strength and conditioning training between practices.
Pitching rules are great, but ignoring the cultural push that "more is better" will only hinder hurt youth baseball in the long run.
So why does baseball allow such a culture to exist? Consider the following:
So what is the answer to reducing injuries in baseball? Throwing fewer pitches and playing fewer games are steps in the right direction, but they aren't a panacea. The problem is not one thing, it is a lot of things! Enforcing pitch counts promotes awareness but more steps are necessary for lasting results. They are steps that no governing body can monitor. No one from Little League headquarters can be around to make sure rules about the number of practices and the number of games per week are enforced; no one will follow players around to make sure they aren't benching too much weight.
Ultimately, therefore, it is up to parents to protect their own athletes. Baseball culture will continue its "proliferation" and parents, not organizations or guidelines, will determine the future for their children.
Here are some tips for parents to protect their child from injury while still maximizing baseball fun:
Links:
[1] https://www.momsteam.com/node/2936
[2] https://www.momsteam.com/node/815
[3] https://www.momsteam.com/node/816
[4] https://www.momsteam.com/node/3306
[5] https://www.momsteam.com/node/3343
[6] https://www.momsteam.com/node/284
[7] https://www.momsteam.com/node/3304
[8] https://www.momsteam.com/node/1235
[9] https://www.momsteam.com/sports/baseball/safety/2014-little-league-baseball-pitch-count-limits-and-mandatory-rest-periods
[10] https://www.momsteam.com/sports/daily-pitch-limits-usa-baseball-little-league-rules-different
[11] https://www.momsteam.com/sports/baseball/safety/preventing-pitching-injuries-in-youth-baseball
[12] https://www.momsteam.com/successful-parenting/early-specialization-in-youth-sports-supported-by-myths-and-competitive-culture-not-facts
[13] https://www.momsteam.com/successful-parenting/specializing-in-single-sport-early-travel-team-play-lead-to-burnout
[14] https://www.momsteam.com/sports/baseball-players-in-warm-weather-climates-more-prone-injuries-pitching-shoulder
[15] https://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/overuse-injuries-signs-symptoms-pain