Overuse and throwing injuries in the skeletally immature athlete

Abstract

Over 25 million children participate in school-sponsored sports, and an additional 20 million participate in extracurricular organized sports. Over the past decade, increased intensity of training, more pressure for success, new opportunities for structured play, and more organized advanced leagues and traveling teams have led to a corresponding increase in overuse injuries in the skeletally immature athlete. Perhaps the classic sports model for overuse injuries of the upper extremity is baseball. Throwing sports contribute to an increased incidence of elbow and shoulder injuries that might be related to intensity of training, throwing mechanics, and poor conditioning, including core strength. Specific areas of concern regarding overuse injuries in young athletes include such diagnoses as little leaguer's shoulder, little leaguer's elbow, osteochondritis dissecans of the elbow, tennis elbow, and distal radial epiphysitis. Ultimately, overuse injuries, and particularly physeal injuries, should be suspected in any young athlete who has pain in the upper extremity. Comparative bilateral radiographs are the rule in workup.