Here are eight studies impacting youth sports medicine from The American Journal of Sports Medicine unless otherwise noted.
1. Pitchers in Warm Climates More Susceptible to Throwing Injuries. The amount of time pitchers spend participating in pitching activities in warm climates is greater than that of pitchers in cold climates, which may make warm climate athletes more susceptible to throwing-related injuries.
Researchers followed 100 uninjured high school pitchers, 50 in warm climates and 50 in cold climates, for the study. The rotational shoulder motion and isometric strength were measured and participants reported the number of months they pitched per year.
The warm climate pitchers pitched more months per year than the cold climate pitchers and the number of months spent pitching was negatively related to the internal rotation motion and external rotation strength. The warm climate group exhibited greater shoulder range of motion on all planes and significantly lower external rotation strength.
2. Young Pitchers Shouldn't Pitch More Than 100 Innings Per Season. Glenn Fleisig, PhD, of the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Ala., led a study that found young boys who pitch more than 100 innings in a season are 3.5 times more likely to undergo elbow or shoulder surgery or retire because of an injury.
For 10 years, the researchers followed 481 male pitchers with ages ranging from 9-14 years. Only 2.2 percent of the participants were still pitching at the final year of the study. During the study, three boys had elbow surgery, seven had shoulder surgery and 14 stopped pitching as a result of s throwing injury.
The only significant risk factor that the study found was the pitchers throwing more than 100 pitches during the season. There was also an increased likelihood of serious injury among boys who played both pitcher and catcher during the study period.
3. Female Athletes More Likely Than Males to Sustain Concussions in Similar Sports. Data was gathered from 25 high schools on the number of concussions observed over a ten-year period. Of the 10,926,892 athletes participating in high school sports, 2,651 concussions were reported.
Boys sports accounted for 53 percent of athlete-exposures and 75 percent of all concussions. Football accounted for more than half of those concussions. Among girl's sports, soccer reported the most concussions and the second-highest incidence rate over all. Concussion rate increased 15.5 percent annually over the 11 year study. In sports similar between girls and boys, girls had roughly twice the concussion risk of boys.
4. Most Sports-Related Concussion Occur in Head-to-Head Collisions. Researchers found that 76 percent of concussions occur when an athlete collides with another player, and 53 percent of the time these are head-to-head collisions.
The study examined the type of contact that leads to concussions and the symptoms athletes are most likely to experience. Each year, an estimated 136,000 sports-related concussions occur among high school athletes in the United States, according to the research.
Computerized neuropsychological testing was used to evaluate 26 percent of the injured athletes and tested athletes were less likely to return to play within a week of their injury. A majority, 57 percent, of injured football players were less likely to have had computerized neuropsychological testing conducted after they were injured than athletes in other sports.
5. Pitchers with Abnormalities in UCL Have Increased Risk of Injury. Thickening of the anterior band of the ulnar collateral ligaments and posteromedial subchondral sclerosis of the trochlea are commonly found in MRI of high school-aged pitchers and can be considered normal findings in the absence of symptom complaints. However, other changes in tissue appearance of the throwing elbow are uncommon and should be regarded with caution.
For the study, 23 uninjured, asymptomatic male high school-aged baseball players with no history of elbow injury were examined. Bilateral elbow MRI examinations were performed using standardized protocol, and the images were reviewed by musculoskeletal radiologists.
Three participants had no abnormalities, 15 had asymmetrical anterior band ulnar collateral ligament thickening including four who also had mild sublime tubercle/anteromedial face edema, 14 had posteromedial subchondral sclerosis of the ulnotrochlear articulation and four had mild posteromedial ulnotrachlear chondromalacia. Ten of the players had multiple abnormal findings in the throwing elbow.
6. The pedi-IKDC Good for Assessing Young Patients. Seventy-two young patients with stable knee disorders were measured in a group of 589 patients with a questionnaire to determine the criterion validity. Response was measured in a group of 98 patients undergoing a variety of knee surgical procedures. The pedi-IKDC had acceptable test-retest reliability and excellent internal consistency.
7. Traumatic Brain Injury Among Youth Basketball Players Increasing. The number of traumatic brain injuries in youth basketball has increased by 70 percent over the past decade, possibly due to the increased size of players and competitiveness, according to an article published in Pediatrics.
Researchers used data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's national electronic injury surveillance system to estimate the number of children injured while playing basketball between 1997 and 2007. The research found that on average, over 375,000 youth patients were treated for injuries every year. The total number of injuries decreased by 20 percent, but the number of brain injuries increased by 70 percent. Children between the ages of five and 10 were most likely to suffer concussions.
8. Gender Could Influence Likelihood of Dominant Leg ACL Injury. Gender could influence likelihood of ACL injuries in the dominant leg, according to a study done by researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation, according to an article published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The study included 41 male and 52 female soccer players at the professional, college, high school and youth levels who had undergone surgery for a complete ACL tear. The injuries were evenly distributed between left and right legs.
The study found that slightly more than half of the injuries occurred in the athlete's dominant leg, usually the right leg. However, 74 percent of males incurred injuries to their dominant leg while 32.3 percent of females received dominant leg injuries. Researchers concluded this discrepancy could result from gender-based anatomical differences as well as differences in neuromuscular patterns when kicking.
1. Pitchers in Warm Climates More Susceptible to Throwing Injuries. The amount of time pitchers spend participating in pitching activities in warm climates is greater than that of pitchers in cold climates, which may make warm climate athletes more susceptible to throwing-related injuries.
Researchers followed 100 uninjured high school pitchers, 50 in warm climates and 50 in cold climates, for the study. The rotational shoulder motion and isometric strength were measured and participants reported the number of months they pitched per year.
The warm climate pitchers pitched more months per year than the cold climate pitchers and the number of months spent pitching was negatively related to the internal rotation motion and external rotation strength. The warm climate group exhibited greater shoulder range of motion on all planes and significantly lower external rotation strength.
2. Young Pitchers Shouldn't Pitch More Than 100 Innings Per Season. Glenn Fleisig, PhD, of the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Ala., led a study that found young boys who pitch more than 100 innings in a season are 3.5 times more likely to undergo elbow or shoulder surgery or retire because of an injury.
For 10 years, the researchers followed 481 male pitchers with ages ranging from 9-14 years. Only 2.2 percent of the participants were still pitching at the final year of the study. During the study, three boys had elbow surgery, seven had shoulder surgery and 14 stopped pitching as a result of s throwing injury.
The only significant risk factor that the study found was the pitchers throwing more than 100 pitches during the season. There was also an increased likelihood of serious injury among boys who played both pitcher and catcher during the study period.
3. Female Athletes More Likely Than Males to Sustain Concussions in Similar Sports. Data was gathered from 25 high schools on the number of concussions observed over a ten-year period. Of the 10,926,892 athletes participating in high school sports, 2,651 concussions were reported.
Boys sports accounted for 53 percent of athlete-exposures and 75 percent of all concussions. Football accounted for more than half of those concussions. Among girl's sports, soccer reported the most concussions and the second-highest incidence rate over all. Concussion rate increased 15.5 percent annually over the 11 year study. In sports similar between girls and boys, girls had roughly twice the concussion risk of boys.
4. Most Sports-Related Concussion Occur in Head-to-Head Collisions. Researchers found that 76 percent of concussions occur when an athlete collides with another player, and 53 percent of the time these are head-to-head collisions.
The study examined the type of contact that leads to concussions and the symptoms athletes are most likely to experience. Each year, an estimated 136,000 sports-related concussions occur among high school athletes in the United States, according to the research.
Computerized neuropsychological testing was used to evaluate 26 percent of the injured athletes and tested athletes were less likely to return to play within a week of their injury. A majority, 57 percent, of injured football players were less likely to have had computerized neuropsychological testing conducted after they were injured than athletes in other sports.
5. Pitchers with Abnormalities in UCL Have Increased Risk of Injury. Thickening of the anterior band of the ulnar collateral ligaments and posteromedial subchondral sclerosis of the trochlea are commonly found in MRI of high school-aged pitchers and can be considered normal findings in the absence of symptom complaints. However, other changes in tissue appearance of the throwing elbow are uncommon and should be regarded with caution.
For the study, 23 uninjured, asymptomatic male high school-aged baseball players with no history of elbow injury were examined. Bilateral elbow MRI examinations were performed using standardized protocol, and the images were reviewed by musculoskeletal radiologists.
Three participants had no abnormalities, 15 had asymmetrical anterior band ulnar collateral ligament thickening including four who also had mild sublime tubercle/anteromedial face edema, 14 had posteromedial subchondral sclerosis of the ulnotrochlear articulation and four had mild posteromedial ulnotrachlear chondromalacia. Ten of the players had multiple abnormal findings in the throwing elbow.
6. The pedi-IKDC Good for Assessing Young Patients. Seventy-two young patients with stable knee disorders were measured in a group of 589 patients with a questionnaire to determine the criterion validity. Response was measured in a group of 98 patients undergoing a variety of knee surgical procedures. The pedi-IKDC had acceptable test-retest reliability and excellent internal consistency.
7. Traumatic Brain Injury Among Youth Basketball Players Increasing. The number of traumatic brain injuries in youth basketball has increased by 70 percent over the past decade, possibly due to the increased size of players and competitiveness, according to an article published in Pediatrics.
Researchers used data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's national electronic injury surveillance system to estimate the number of children injured while playing basketball between 1997 and 2007. The research found that on average, over 375,000 youth patients were treated for injuries every year. The total number of injuries decreased by 20 percent, but the number of brain injuries increased by 70 percent. Children between the ages of five and 10 were most likely to suffer concussions.
8. Gender Could Influence Likelihood of Dominant Leg ACL Injury. Gender could influence likelihood of ACL injuries in the dominant leg, according to a study done by researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation, according to an article published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The study included 41 male and 52 female soccer players at the professional, college, high school and youth levels who had undergone surgery for a complete ACL tear. The injuries were evenly distributed between left and right legs.
The study found that slightly more than half of the injuries occurred in the athlete's dominant leg, usually the right leg. However, 74 percent of males incurred injuries to their dominant leg while 32.3 percent of females received dominant leg injuries. Researchers concluded this discrepancy could result from gender-based anatomical differences as well as differences in neuromuscular patterns when kicking.