What is "Little League elbow?" I hear this term used by the coaches at ball practice.

It's a term used to describe injury to the inside of the elbow. It happens so often in pre-teens and young teens from pitching the name has caught on. When the pitcher throws the ball, the elbow is in a position called valgus. This means the angle of the elbow puts the force on the inside edge of the elbow.

Sports experts think a breaking pitch requires more force and twist on the wrist compared with the standard straight pitch. The force through the wrist travels to the elbow causing this problem.

Reference: 

David Wei Hang, et al. A Clinical and Roentgenographic Study of Little League Elbow. In The American Journal of Sports Medicine. January/February 2004. Vol. 32. No. 1. Pp. 79-84.


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