And the debate continues

[adminbaberuth]

After reading this new study, young pitchers are not likely to have arm troubles if they are not over pitched at young age. The study actually says:

“What the researchers found was that repeated pitching does cause changes in the upper arm bone and soft tissue in the shoulders of young baseball players, but that these types of changes generally help protect players from injury, so it's not necessarily a bad thing. Mair said these changes may actually allow for better throwing velocity and less injuries to the shoulder.â€

Also, I found this interesting.

“Young players do need a break from throwing, Mair said. In the old days kids played baseball in the summer and then played basketball or football in the winter. "That was better for growing children because varying the sports used different muscles and movements," he said. "But now, some children play only baseball year-round, and that can be a problem. It can cause shoulder changes that go beyond normal adaptation, and can lead to pain and even growth plate injuries."

Complete story here

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071004084045.htm

[espn2]

These are examples of why the debate will continue.  Even the Doctors that do the study can not give deffinative answers.  They continue to have to hedge their comments.  My opinion for what it is worth.  Err on the side of caution.

Science Daily — While shoulder changes can? allow pitches to go faster, too much of a good thing can be bad for growing kids.

What the researchers found was that repeated pitching does cause changes in the upper arm bone and soft tissue in the shoulders of young baseball players, but that these types of changes generally help protect players from injury, so it's not necessarily a bad thing. Mair said these changes may actually allow for better throwing velocity and less injuries to the shoulder.

"However," he cautioned, "pitching too much and playing year-round can? push those adaptive changes to the point of injury. Young men in particular may be prone to injury, because some play the game year-round, and because the bones and muscles in their arms are still growing and changing."

Young players do need a break from throwing, Mair said. In the old days kids played baseball in the summer and then played basketball or football in the winter. "That was better for growing children because varying the sports used different muscles and movements," he said. "But now, some children play only baseball year-round, and that can? be a problem. It can? cause shoulder changes that go beyond normal adaptation, and can? lead to pain and even growth plate injuries."

"Kids that are pitching in three different leagues and pitching 12 months of the year tend? to get growth plate problems that turn into a source of pain," Mair said.

Now that this part of the research is complete, Mair said there's still a lot of work to be done in finding out how the growth plate responds to throwing, how to keep kids from being injured, determining pitch counts and days of rest needed, and in educating kids, parents and coaches.

[EDBLU]

The biggest thing is for parents to get their sons checked out by a doctor when they complain of arm pain. When my son was in Pony league there were a few instances where  I overheard kids complaining of arm pain and I made it a point to tell their dad about it. I wasn't a coach just a concerned parent. In both cases the parent(coach) still had the kid continue to pitch. I should have told the moms instead of the dads! When my kid had an arm problem I took him to the doctor and the doctor shut him down for half the season because it was a growth plate problem. I told my son that you can't make the pros out of pony league so heal up and then you can get back to playing. I would have made him sit out the entire season if the doctor had told us so. He wasn't a pitcher at the time just an outfielder who had to adjust to a bigger field. We all need to remember that at the end of the day the most important thing is taking care of our sons not winning baseball games!

[EAGLE07]

I should have told the Moms..not the Dads. Pretty much sums it up...and I'm a Dad.