Growth Plate Injuries

I had a similar problem when I was 8 in the shoulder. My growth plates started growing too fast for the rest of my body to catch up. I also had naturally loose ligaments. With lots of tubing exercise, 3 1/2 months of lay off, and a rehab throwing program, I came back the next season better than ever. To have growth plate problems at such an old age is usually rare-at least in what I've seen. Normally kids have "soreness" that is probably attributed to growth plates (a Dr. told me this) in their younger ages (12-14). If he is 6'5", be smart. Don't rush it, he will definately get his looks being that tall.

This happens a ;ot with young tall kids who have big groweh spurts.
I have seen this many times and is often almost crippling to some.
My son was 6'3" at 15 and I would not let him do weights other than very light. He started heavier weights at 17 and is physically behind others but he has been problem free. He pitched since he was 9 and never experience any problems. Others I knew had knee and elbow pain because of growth plates not keeping up with their fast development.

My son had growth plate problems at 11 and 12 because he grew so much so quickly. He did continue playing baseball but could not pitch for about 3 months. He also had bad Osgood Schlatter (spelling?) knees for a while. He took things easy for a year (light weights, no running, no basketball etc. )and he has had no problems since. He's now 19 and still pitching.

I have known of several kids who had elbow growth plate problems. These were due to overuse or poor pitching mechanics. {Not to say that every case of growth plate problems are due to these causes.}

Whatever your son does, don't let him come back too early or too fast. Follow the rehab to the letter.

My son had it at 13, had a very strong arm at the time. His problem was the shoulder.

Anyway, could not throw without pain until 15. At 15 could not throw with any velocity relative to his growth. I honestly believed he'd never throw again like he had in youth. By 17 arm almost back to 100% now, just now at 18 he'll start to pitch again.

My message take it seriously and don't let him try to come back to strong.

I am glad to see he's not alone-it is the growth plate in the shoulder-he's disappointed as this has been going on since the spring-he took time off then came back slowly in the summer to fall only pitching with his pitching coach twice a week-threw a couple innings in a tournament just a little sore then tried to pitch at the high school two weeks later (only lasted an inning and a half and had to stop)as of today his doctor advised him not to pick up a baseball he goes for another MRI next week-

quote:

Originally posted by bulldogbaseball:
I am glad to see he's not alone-it is the growth plate in the shoulder-he's disappointed as this has been going on since the spring-he took time off then came back slowly in the summer to fall only pitching with his pitching coach twice a week-threw a couple innings in a tournament just a little sore then tried to pitch at the high school two weeks later (only lasted an inning and a half and had to stop)as of today his doctor advised him not to pick up a baseball he goes for another MRI next week-

My advice to you is to be careful with your son.

Since he's 15, he's probably not that far (e.g. 16 or 17) from the having all the growth plates in his arm close. However, the fact that this growth plate is still open means that he may be biologically younger than his calendar age.

Your son can always get into pitching in a year or two, but if he starts having growth plate problems then it may be hard to get over them.

Be careful and take your time.

Bulldog,
Your son should take this VERY seriously.I know he may think it is the end of the world to possibly miss next season.But it sounds like 2 or 3 monthes off will not do it.The good news is that rest is the solution,not Tommy John surgery!A good friend & teammate of my sons just found out he will need TJ surgery & miss his Soph. season.He did not heed the warnings his body was telling him.God Bless

Growth plates in the shoulder close later than those in the elbow. Typically as much as 2 years later. That's why generally they get tall then the shoulders broaden out later on.

My son had three growth plate injuries when he was young. I'm going to state the obvious even though all of you may know it. The growth plate area is softer than mature bone and is where a growing kid grows. It is too common for young baseball players to have growth plate problems and lifting, etc. will only marginally help.

If a kid ignores the advice of a physician to lay off, they could hurt the growth plate and end up not developing properly.

Bad mechanics can make the possibility of injury greater, but even good mechanics can result in a growth plate injury.

There are some good programs for coming back after the weeks off he will have. They usually start with relatively few tosses from short distances and graduate up. Make sure your kid follows the doctor's advice for time off as well as coming back. My kid, when he felt better, wanted to throw 100%. It was war in the house because I would make him back off.

One other note. Some doctors don't want the kid to hit at all, and others would let him hit. That depends on a lot of factors. My kid hit a grand slam and as he was rounding third told me his shoulder was killing him. We shut down hitting also after that (he was already not throwing).

quote:

It is too common for young baseball players to have growth plate problems and lifting, etc. will only marginally help.

Lifting is actually more likely to make things worse because you make the muscles stronger while the bones are still weak. That makes it easier for the muscle to strain the growth plate.

My 14 yr old son was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his throwing elbow in early October the orthopedist called it the typical little league elbow. He did not throw a baseball till about a week ago. I see the mention of a rehab program. The P.T did not give us a plan on rehab when they released him. I know enough that he needs to start slow on distance and effort is that mostly it? He also owns a pair of tubes should he start using that?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

I will try to get a copy. If I can I will post it.

quote:

Originally posted by 951dad:
My 14 yr old son was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his throwing elbow in early October the orthopedist called it the typical little league elbow. He did not throw a baseball till about a week ago. I see the mention of a rehab program. The P.T did not give us a plan on rehab when they released him. I know enough that he needs to start slow on distance and effort is that mostly it? He also owns a pair of tubes should he start using that?

Where was the stress fracture? The Olecranon?

If so, when he's back up to speed you might want to check and make sure that he's not accidentally throwing slider or a cutter, or else the problem may reoccur. Do his longer, harder throws move at all (e.g. dive or tail) or are they straight?

A couple of years ago I had a 10YO pitcher develop elbow pain because he was accidentally throwing a slider. He would turn his palm skyward as and after he released the ball.

Hate to be off subject, but did that 10 YO have a pretty good ERA?

He had a fracture on the side of the humerus that is above the raduis on the outside, and you guessed it he throw alot of sliders last year. He has only thrown in the last week at a distance of forty feet. He did mention to me that he noticed more movement in his ball from that distance. right now his travel coach moved him to first until Jan 9th. Jan 9th is try-outs for the High School team. will he be ready who knows but he has been running and taking ground balls to try and stay in baseball shape.

quote:

Originally posted by 951dad:
He did mention to me that he noticed more movement in his ball from that distance.

You might want to consider having him pronate his forearm (or at least keep it neutral) through the release point. It sounds like he's supinating his forearm through the release point, which can cause movement.

One thing I do to make sure my guys aren't supinating is draw line all the way around a ball so that the line runs parallel to their fingers when held with a 4-seam grip. If you release the ball with a neutral forearm angle, you will see a vertical line as it travels to or from you. If you're supinating the forearm as you would with a slider or cutter, you won't see a clear vertical line since the ball isn't rotating on a horizontal axis.

The doctor;s program I alluded to is attached. The doctor is an orthopaedic surgeon, a former college player and has a son in college ball. If there is pain, the player should stop, rest and start from step 1.
1. Jog 1 lap around the field
2. Complete a total body stretching program
3. Do the following as per each day instructions (both position & pitchers)...
On odd days (1,3,5,7,9) warm-up throws; 25 throws; rest 5 minutes; 25 throws; ice
On even days (2,4,6,8,10) add one more 25 throws and 5 minute rest.
Days 1&2 from 45 ft; 3&4 from 60 ft; 5&6 from 90 ft; 7&8 from 120 ft; 9&10 from 150 ft

Days 11, 12, 13 & 14 - position players: Go to 180 ft and do same as above (2 sets of 25 throws for odd days & 3 sets of 25 throws on even days)A POSITION PLAYER CAN RETURN.

Pitchers:
1. Use phase I throwing from 120 ft as a warm-up
2. With pitching coach present to stress mechanics on the mound...
Phase II Stage I (fastballs only)
Day 11 - 15 throws at 50%
Day 12 - 30 throws at 50%
Day 13 - 45 throws at 50%
Day 14 - 30 throws at 75%
Day 15 - 30 throws at 75% & 45 throws at 50%
Day 16 - 45 throws at 75% & 15 throws at 50%
Phase II Stage II (fastballs only)
Day 17 - 45 throws at 75% & 15 throws BP
Day 18 - 45 throws at 75% & 30 throws BP
Day 19 - 45 throws at 75% & 45 throws BP
Phase II Stage III (fastballs & breaking pitches)
Day 20 - 30 throws FB at 75%; 15 throws breaking at 50%; 45-60 FBs at BP
Day 21 - 30 throws FB at 75%; 30 throws breaking at 75%; 30 throws at BP
Day 22 - 30 throws at 75%; 60 -90 throws BP, 25% breaking pitches
Day 23 - Simulated game: Progressing by 15 throws per outing

My son had the a growth plate issue last year in his elbow. It happened about seven weeks before HS freshman tryouts. His recovery required three weeks rest minimum. He wasn't even allowed to throw snowballs in the front yard. He ramped up during the remaining time, and made the team at the tryout. His doctor wasn't alarmed, but did tell him to stick to the rest. Ice and ibuprofen took care of the swelling. We listened. He's healthy and looking foreward to another season.

Good Luck
Be Safe

IT's a common problem. Older brother of one of my son's teammates got a spiral fracture pitching. Often, the muscle becomes stronger than the soft growth plate where it is attached can withstand. The high stress during a hard throw actually can cause the bone to splinter. He was a very promising pitcher, but ended up unable to pitch again. The constant stress to that maleable bony area created a bend -- a deformity-- in his shoulder and made it impossible to throw without the shoulder moving out of joint. BE CAREFUL!

American Sports Medical Institute ( asmi.org ) with Dr.James Andrews has a great booklet for about $10.00 that includes pitcher exercises and a graduated throwing program. They're great people and have their own forum which you can ask questions. Good Luck!

Thank you all for the advice, we will use the the rehab program from "baseballpapa" and the ball idea from "thepainguy" and will let everyone know how it goes.

once again thank you all for the advice.

951dad,
The program baseballpapa listed usually goes with a day of rest between each throwing session until reaching somewhat longer distances then goes 2 days on 1 day off. If your son does what baseballpapa posted and throws every day an injury is almost guaranteed. Do a search using "interval throwing program" and check it out for yourself.

It is important not to try to come back too quickly. During the time off, adhesions and other problems can develop and coming back too quickly can cause serious problems.

The program I gave is what a doctor uses for a college team. You may run it past your doctor. It seems to make sense that there should be time off. Remember also that if there is any pain you stop and take time off and start over again.

Thanks

So far so good, he has been throwing every other day and is at 90 feet right now so you can see that we are being pretty careful. No pain and no swelling at all. His schools try- out starts Jan. 9th. He knows that he might not be ready but he is a determined player so who knows. His main position is catcher but he is also a pitcher which makes it even more stressful on his elbow. He has been working on pop up techniques when not throwing and quicker exchange from glove to hand techniques, so maybe that will help him later.

Only problem that we are having right now is finding a place to throw with lights. We were using a tennis court that you pay a quarter for 30 minutes of light but that ended when the tennis people ran us out. Now we are throwing behind a super market in a parking lot which believe it or not is not bad, it has pretty good lighting.

951dad

There are some great studies done by the College of Orthepedics on "Little League Elbow". This is specifically an overuse injury to the medial growth plate of the elbow complex. This plate "usually" begins to harden between 14 - 16 years of age. An estimated 40% of youth pitchers will experience some growth plate issues according to one study! Most are generally mild and only require rest. Scaring, fracturing and detachment and the rare but potential risks. Even these are treatable by surgery with great prognosis though. My concern is that at his age, maybe it is not a growth plate issue at all. I would be concerned about the ulnar collateral ligament which presents with almost the same symptoms.

My son had a MRI done on his elbow it showed that the ligaments were fine the only damage done was to the growth plate a 13 milimeter fracture.

On his last doctor visit the fracture looked healed.

good news after following the rehab throwing program from baseballpapa my son was able to get his arm ready for high school try-outs and he made the team.

thank you all and a special thanks to BASEBALLPAPA for the help.

quote:

Originally posted by Savannah:
My concern is that at his age, maybe it is not a growth plate issue at all. I would be concerned about the ulnar collateral ligament which presents with almost the same symptoms.

When you're talking about a 15 year old, you are more likely to see the complex fail at the growth plate instead of the ligament because, while the growth plate is still open, the ligament is stronger than the growth plate. IOW, the complex will tend to fail at the weakest link in the chain, and that is generally the growth plate.

Only after the growth plate has closed does damage to the ligament itself start to be the major problem.