Treating Little League Elbow

What is Little League Elbow?

Injuries in baseball can often occur from repeated movements are preventable, such as the throwing motion. These injuries usually influence the shoulder and elbow joints while limiting the athletes’ playing time.

Now that the baseball season is reaching its halfway mark, aches, pains, and injuries might begin to limit playing time or performance. The goal is to prevent the aches and pains from becoming long-term or season-ending injuries. If an injury does arise, you want to be sure to treat it as soon as possible, limiting the amount of game time missed.

How to treat Little League Elbow

As hard as it is, initial treatment for Little League Elbow is to rest. That prohibits a throwing  motion of any kind for a minimum of 4-6 weeks, or until the player is pain free. Icing the elbow 1-2x a day for 15-20 minutes at a time will help decrease the pain and inflammation. During this time, core strengthening exercises and cardiovascular exercise would be beneficial in maintaining strength as the amount of practice and activity has decreased. Increasing the strength of the muscles that make of the “core” can help improve throwing motions as many adolescents have poorly developed core muscles.

“Physical therapy is the most important part of treatment for little league elbow syndrome.” – Emedicine.com. Range-of-motion exercises may be prescribed by the therapist to help in the healing process. When the player is pain free, your physical therapist might begin strengthening exercises to prevent further injury.

Always remember that until the pain is gone, the player is constantly in danger of injuring the elbow again, which means more time away from the field.

References:

• http://www.sportsmd.com/SportsMD_Articles/id/293.aspx
• http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/97101-treatment

 

Preventing Little League Elbow

Injuries in baseball that often occur from repeated movements are preventable, such as the throwing motion. These injuries usually influence the shoulder and elbow joints while limiting the athletes’ playing time.

How can I prevent these chronic injuries?

Some simple things that we can do to prevent these injuries include:

• Warm up properly before practices and games using a dynamic warm up protocol specific to baseball.
• Emphasize good mechanics as a coach or parent.
• Don’t play year round.
• Switch positions regularly if possible.
• Follow the pitch count rules as developed by Little League Baseball.
• Develop skills that are appropiate for the age group.
• Don’t pitch on consecutive days.

Makovicka Physical Therapy – If you have any other questions about preventing injury, visit one of our 5 convenient Omaha locations.

 

References:
Ireland, M. L., Andrews, J., & Fleisig, G. (2010). Stop sports injuries – sports tips. Retrieved from http://assets.ngin.com/attachments/document/0017/4524/AOSSM_Baseball_Injuries_tip_sheet.pdf

Prevention and Emergency Management of Youth
Baseball and Softball Injuries. American Orthopaedic
Society for Sports Medicine. 2005.

Little League Baseball. http://www.littleleague.org/ Assets/
old_assets/media/pitchcount_faq_08.pdf

American Sports Medicine Institute. http://www.asmi.org

Preventing and Recognizing Heat Related Injuries

We were able to sit down with Pete Crane, PA-C from  Urgent Care of Papillion to talk about how we can prevent the onset of heat related injuries and illnesses due to the increase in temperature that we see during the summer months.

Prevent

On days where the temperature is up in the 90’s, be sure that you are hydrating yourself well throughout the day and not just when you’re outside. It’s better to prepare than to react to something like a heat stroke.

Pete couldn’t emphasize enough the importance of “hydration, covering up and limiting your exposure time when it comes to dealing with temperatures in the 90-100 degree range like we’ve seen recently.” Try to plan outdoor activites earlier in the morning or later in the evening if possible. If this is not an option then be sure to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water and electrolytes and take frequent breaks in the shade or air conditioning.

Symptoms

Serious problems could develop very quickly, so listen to your body and look for these symptoms:

• Confusion
• Dark-colored urine (a sign of dehydration)
• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle cramps
• Nausea
• Pale skin
• Profuse sweating
• Rapid heartbeat

By the time you begin to feel the symptoms of Heat Exhaustion it is extremely important to take the initiative in treating yourself or the person experiencing the symptoms as this will help limit the damage.

You should hydrate and cool yourself as soon as possible at the first sign of any of these symptoms. “Get out of the sun, use cold towels, fans or a cool shower” to help decrease the effects of a heat related injury. Medical advice should be sought immediately if you’ve fainted, felt feelings of light headedness, blurred vision, dizzy, or nausea. If you are unable to reach your medical professional either call 911 or come talk to Pete at their location off 72nd and Giles.

A good source for more information can be found at: http://firstaid.webmd.com/tc/heat-related-illnesses-prevention and WebMD to check your symptoms.

Urgent Care of Papillion

8419 South 73rd Plaza, Suite 101
Papillion, NE 68046

Open 7 days a week.

Monday – Friday – 8:00am – 8:00pm
Saturday -Sunday – 9:00am – 5:00pm

Staying injury free in the garden!

The summer months are upon us and that means more planting, weeding, mulching, and raking. These repetitive movements may seem harmless but can have us raking through the theraband drawer at physical therapy in no time. You can do a few simple things before you start to reduce the risk of injury and will keep your garden from becoming abandoned.

• Warm-up: This sounds rudimentary but a proper warm-up can get your muscles and joints ready for the task at hand. Whether that is just getting out for a quick walk before and/or stretching, it will help prepare you.
• Listen to your body: If you start to ache, cramp, or feel pain in your neck or shoulders, take a minute and stretch. Your body is trying to tell you that you are in a wrong position or overworking your muscles/joints so switch up your position or hand that your using.
• Don’t knee on both knees: This will help give your back more stability.
• Stretch: When you’re all done, stretch and go for a little walk. This will help prevent soreness the next day.

Contact one of your local Makovicka Physical Therapy clinics if you have questions on mechanics to prevent injury.

Source: MoveForwardPT.com

How to shop for running/walking shoes.

Shopping Tips:

1. Look at the general workmanship of the shoe (loose or uneven stitching, sloppy glue, etc.).
2. Heel counter, the back of the shoe that cups the heel should be stiff and firmly attached.
3. Run your hand along the inside to feel for any rough edges.
4. Nylon material is the best for the upper portion of the shoe as it allows the foot to “breathe”.
5. The weight of the shoe is overrated, do not use as a factor for shoe selection.

Fitting Tips:

1. Even if the shoe is highly recommended, do not buy it if it does not fit correctly. A shoe that does not fit correctly will not work correctly.
2. The heel counter should fit snug and firm, but does not dig into your heel. If not, check the width of the shoe.
3. Allow at least one quarter inch up to a thumb nail beyond the end of your toes.
4. Feet swell while running so do not choose a shoe that is too tight across the widest area of the forefoot.
5. Put both shoes on, lace them up, and try them out. If they fit correctly, wear them.
6. When trying shoes on, wear the socks that you would normally use when running or walking in them. Also, be sure to put the inserts or orthotics in that you would use to be sure they fit correctly.

– Scott Keenan, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS

Makovicka Physical Therapy

Why choose aquatic therapy?

Aquatic therapy is the use of an aquatic environment to perform exercises, manual therapy, sensory integration, and gait training.  Aquatic therapy utilizes the properties of water to provide a safe, functional, and challenging atmosphere to restore normal movement.  The benefits of aquatic therapy include, but are not limited to:

Buoyancy:  Buoyancy is the property of water that reduces the force of gravity on the body.  The body can be relieved of gravity by up to 80% at chest-high level.  This allows a person to practice walking without the stress of a land setting.  Buoyancy can also be used to decrease the compression of gravity on the spine.  Finally, buoyancy can be used to improve range of motion for any body part by reducing the force gravity exerts.

Hydrostatic Pressure:  Hydrostatic pressure is the force that water applies to the body.  It can aid in the reduction of edema, improve circulation, and decrease blood pressure.  This pressure can also be utilized for resistance to improve breathing capacity, allowing the chest muscles to expand more on land.

Temperature:  At Makovicka Physical Therapy we utilize an aquatic temperature of 92-95 degrees.  This allows the tissues to relax and improve flexibility.  It also provides a more comfortable experience for the patient to focus on their movement.

By employing these characteristics physical therapists are able to create a challenging, yet safe setting for patients to begin, progress, or finalize their rehabilitation.  The versatility of aquatic environment has been shown to benefit patients who suffer from:

ACL reconstruction

Fibromyalgia

Rotator cuff injury

Adhesive capsulitis (Frozen Shoulder)

Gait dysfunction

Various foot injuries, including plantar fasciitis, post-surgical conditions, and ankle sprains

Chronic and acute low back pain

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

And many others

 

For a video demonstration of the Hydroworx pool:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9TwXiu1NWM & http://youtu.be/RAYYf0YRfg8

 

Visit www.makovickapt.com, call (402) 933-3036, or come see us at 178th and Pacific at Makovicka Physical Therapy for more details.

Dan McCutchen, PT, DPT, OCS