I've been throwing with my little guy for 3 weeks without problems. Sunday we had our first LL practice and now he's complaing about elbow pain. This Sunday he's going to see his pitching coach to check his machanics.Is this a common for kids? how did you go about dealing with your kids arm problems.
Thanks!!
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Dad,
It may not be his mechanics and may not be anything the pitching coach can address.
It is not uncommon at age 11 to experience growth plate issues, especially early in a season. There are plenty of references to it on this site. If the symptoms persist and especially with any resumption of throwing, the prudent course of action is to get to an MD and have an Xray of that elbow. Throwing into a growth plate issue only causes greater separation and pain while prolonging the healing and rest period.
Good luck to your son. With the name you have chosen, if your son is a "Flamethrower" at age 11, a growth plate situation might not be surprising. Ours had the growth plate issue at age 12. He was not very big but he threw pretty darn hard. If this board had existed when our son was 12, I would have managed the issue far better than I did.
Thanks Infielddad, your reply is much appreciated 
My 17 year old had growth plate issues around that time. Shut him down for the fall season...about 5 months and he was okay. He is a power pitcher and has had no issues since...hits about 93 as a senior.
Good luck!
If he is a good pitching instructor he will say not to throw and go to a doctor. There is a difference with soreness and pain. JMO
Thx picked Off, He has a DR's appt for next week.
Thx picked Off, He has a DR's appt for next week.
Dad, I just sent you a private dialog.
Dad of Flamethrower if you dont have your son on pitching bands yet i would get him in the routine of using them prior to practices and games. If he learns this early he will implement it and not miss a beat. Will be harder to convince him to use them as he gets older. There is a whole set of stretches utilizing the bands.
Thx picked Off, He has a DR's appt for next week.
Make sure it's an ortho.
I would skip the pitching coach and go to the ortho asap. It may not be serious, but you want to rule it out and get started with treatment.
My kid has a similar issue. Sore elbow in the fall. Rested during the winter and when he started throwing again the soreness returned. I was freaking out. Went to a pediatric ortho who specializes in sports injuries. Examined the arm and took an xray to rule out growth plate issues. It turned out that it was inflammation and irritation from releasing the ball -- if you snap your wrist you can feel the tendons in the elbow move. Stopped throwing and went to a few weeks of physical therapy -- primarily the throwers 10 exercises -- which improved his strength. Hasn't had an issue since.
My 13 yr old had elbow issues. Went to Ortho Dr. Problem was growth plates in elbow. The way it was explained to me was the growth plates are likes thin sheets of paper. As the elbow matures, the "sheets" fuse together. My son's problem was the tendon/ligaments/muscles were stronger than the "sheets" and pulling the "sheets" apart. He could not pitch (or play catcher) for about 2-3 months. He played first and could hit. Never had another issue since then.
