Young pitchers see health benefit from preseason pitching programs
With the Major League Baseball season beginning in less than a month, and Spring Training already well underway, baseball is on the minds of a lot of people this time of year.
One of the sport’s ongoing problems has long been the health of its pitchers, who throw so frequently with so much velocity that they often end up needing serious corrective surgeries before they even graduate high school.
As The American Council on Science and Health wrote on its website this week, a new study from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine found that young pitchers can benefit from participating in preseason prevention programs.
The American Council on Science and Health points out that other studies in recent years—including one from Radiology in 2014—also examined this issue. And according to the American Sports Medicine Institute, pitchers between the ages of 15 and 18 should limit themselves to two games per week, with each game consisting of a maximum of 50 pitches.
“If we can encourage parents, coaches, and youth baseball organizations across the country to adopt similar programs, athletes may have a better chance for reducing time off the field because of injury,” Chuck Thigpen, PhD, ATI Physical Therapy in Greenville, S.C., and corresponding author of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine study, said. “Especially considering the increased effectiveness of the program in preventing subsequent arm injuries.”
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Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.