Sports Specialists Discuss the Rise in Arm Injuries in Young Ball Players

WFUV News—August 20, 2014

All this week, WFUV News is looking at an alarming trend affecting baseball players of all ages, from Little League to Major League Baseball.

Research shows that more Major League Baseball players are having arm injuries and needing Tommy John surgery, but it’s not just big leaguers going under the knife.

The American Sports Medicine Institute studied the number of baseball related elbow injuries that resulted in surgery from 1994 to 2011, however, rather than look at professional athletes, it focused on ball players in youth leagues and high school.

The study found a sharp increase in the number of elbow reconstruction surgeries performed in the 2000’s.

I reached out to three sports specialists by phone and peppered them with questions about the rise of arm injuries in teenage baseball players.

Dr. Frank Cordasco is a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery.

Dr. Joshua Dines is also a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery.

Read the full article on wfuv.org.