Preventing Sports Injuries

ACROSS FLORIDA. HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL. THOSE ENTERING THE PLAYOFFS WITH MANY STUDENT ATHLETES PUSHING THEIR BODIES TO THE LIMIT FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP. BUT THIS IS LEADING TO A CONCERNING TREND. THE RISE IN THROWING INJURIES. I MEAN, ARM AND SHOULDER PROBLEMS SOMETIMES MEETING MAJOR SURGERY, WGS USED EDDIE BYRNE FARMS. MORE ON HOW PARENTS CAN KEEP THEIR KIDS SAFE AND TAKING THEM OUT. >> SO FOR MORE ON THE RISE AND THROWING INJURIES IN YOUTH SPORTS, I'M JOINED BY JASON'S AROUND SKI CHIEF OF THE SPORTS MEDICINE DIVISION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA'S DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION. DOCTORS ARE AS KEEN. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. SO BASEBALL FANS REELING TWO-TIME DEFENDING CY YOUNG WINNER TARA SCHOOL BOWL MISSING TIME FOLLOWING ARTHROSCOPIC SURGERY. BUT NOW IT APPEARS THAT MAJOR INJURIES ARE BECOMING MORE COMMON WITH HIGH SCHOOLERS. EVEN LITTLE LEAGUERS. WHY HAS THERE BEEN AN UPTICK IN THROWING INJURIES IN KIDS? WELL, IT'S A COMPLICATED >> QUESTION. I THINK THE ANSWER THERE'S A COUPLE ANSWERS AND COUPLE REASONS WHY ONE IS THERE'S BEEN A RISE WAS CALLED SPORT SPECIALIZATION, WHICH IS WHERE AN ATHLETE FOCUSES HIS OR HER TIME ON ONE TICKER SPORT CLOSE TO YEAR-ROUND AND GIVES OF OTHER THINGS TO FOCUS ON THAT AND SICKER IN FLORIDA. WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO PLAY BASEBALL OR SOFTBALL ALL YEAR ROUND. SO YOU COMBINE THAT WITH ESPECIALLY IN BASEBALL WITH THE QUEST FOR THE LOSS OF THE VELOCITY IS KEEN. SO AS YOU ARE PLAYING MORE AND YOU'RE THROWING MORE AND THEN YOU'RE PARTICIPATING IN TRAINING PROGRAMS TO INCREASE YOUR VELOCITY. THERE'S JUST A LOT MORE WEAR AND TEAR ON YOUR ARM. AND IT'S BEEN THE MEDIA MORE ON THE ELBOW, ESPECIALLY AND UNFORTUNATELY WHAT HAPPENS IS KID SEE THIS COACHES SEE THIS. PARENTS SEE THIS. SO PERMEATES FROM MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DOWN TO THE PROFESSIONAL LEAGUES, MINOR LEAGUES TO HIGHLIGHT A LOCALLY TO BASEBALL EVENTUALLY DOWN TO HIGH SCHOOL IN TRAVEL BALL. AND THIS HAS BEEN SORT OF AN UPTICK COMING ON SINCE THE LATE 90'S, EARLY 2, THOUSANDS. AND NOW IT'S SORT OF EMBEDDED IN OUR CULTURE WHERE YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF KEEP UP WITH THE JONESES PHENOMENA WHERE YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN SPORT, BUT IN ORDER TO BE COMPETITIVE, YOU WANT TO KEEP UP BY DOING THESE PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS THAT WILL INCREASE YOUR VELOCITY, WHICH IS GREAT. PROBLEM IS, AS YOU INCREASE YOUR VELOCITY, THERE'S INCREASED RISK OF THROWING INJURY, PARTICULAR WITH YOUR ELBOW. >> AND THIS IS ALSO APPOINTING A LOT OF THESE KIDS LIVES WHERE THEY'RE STILL GROWING STILL DEVELOPING. SO AS THEY'RE PUTTING ON MUSCLE BONES ARE STRETCHING OUT THEIR GROWING INSIDE AND EVERYTHING. SO WHAT CAN BE DONE TO HELP WARN KIDS AS THEIR TRAINING OR IS IT JUST INCLUDE MORE TRAINING AND MUSCLE TRAINING. ASIDE FROM JUST THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL PLAY? >> NOW IT'S A GOOD THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. AND IF I HAVE THE ANSWER, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE WOULD BE DOING IT RIGHT NOW. IT'S REALLY A CHALLENGE. I JUST SPOKE ABOUT THIS LAST WEEK IS IT'S A BALANCING ACT BETWEEN WE WANT TO MAKE SURE OUR SPORTS PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS ARE PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE TRAINING ARE BEING BALANCED AGAINST INJURY PREVENTION. AND RIGHT NOW SOMETIMES SPORTS PERFORMANCE KIND OF BUTTS UP HEADS AGAINST INJURY PREVENTION BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT SUMMER TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL PITCHERS AND SOFTBALL PITCHERS ARE GOING TO LEAD TO INCREASED VELOCITY AND LEAD TO INCREASED SUCCESS. THEY WORK. THE PROBLEM IS IT ALSO COMES WITH IT, INCREASED RISK OF INJURIES. SO WE HAVE TO DEVELOP IN BLANEY'S. WE AS SPORTS MOST AND PERFORMANCE PROFESSIONALS, THE DOCTORS THAT AFFLICT TRAINERS, THE FISCAL THERAPISTS AS WELL AS OUR SPORTS PERFORMANCE EXPERTS, THE KIDS ATHLETES, THE PARENTS, THE CAREGIVERS, WE HAVE TO ALL WORK TOGETHER TO TIE, FIGURE OUT, OK, HOW CAN WE CONTINUE TO TRAIN THESE ATHLETES TO STAY ON THE FIELD? THE PLATE BUT NOT PUSH THEM SO MUCH THAT WE MAKE HIVE LEAD THEM TO PLACE THEY WANT DON'T WANT TO GO, WHICH IS AN INJURY AND THAT'S THE CHALLENGE YOU KNOW, KIDS ARE THROWN FASTER THESE DAYS. THAT'S SIMPLY BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE STRAIN FIRMS ARE REALLY GOOD. BUT WE KNOW FROM DATA FROM THE MAJOR LEAGUERS ON DOWN THE FASTER, THROW THE GREATER LIKE WOULD YOU CAN ENDURE ELBOW. AND IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU'RE STILL GROWING ANY OF OPEN GROWTH PLATES. YOUR BODY STILL DEVELOPING ARE GOING THROUGH PUBERTY. YOU'RE GOING THROUGH SOME PHYSICAL MATURATION ISSUES. AND THAT'S A REAL CHALLENGE IN HIGH SCHOOL. >> AND THEN SPEAKING WITH THE PARENTS A LOT OF TIMES, THERE'S THE PRESSURE FOR THEIR CHILDREN TO DO WELL. THEY WANT TO HAVE THEM, AS YOU SAID, THROUGH THE TRAVELING TOURNAMENT, THE TRAVEL PLAY 365 DAYS A YEAR IF THEY CAN. BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO THESE PITCHING GUIDELINES. NOW, I DON'T REMEMBER THESE FROM WHEN I WAS GROWING UP AND PLAYING BASEBALL AND MANY PARENTS SEEM TO BE UNAWARE OF THEM BEING IMPLEMENTED RIGHT NOW. SO WHAT ARE THESE GUIDELINES? WHAT HAPPENS IF A COACH DOES NOT FOLLOW THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE LOOKING FOR THE MOST SUCCESS ON THE FIELD. I KNOW IT'S A GOOD QUESTION. SO MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. >> IN COLLABORATION WITH LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL IN 2014 AFTER YEARS OF EXPERT CONSENSUS GUIDELINES IN 2014, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PUT OUT WHAT'S CALLED PITCH SMART AND YOU CAN GO TO THE WEBSITE. YOU CAN HAVE YOUR AUDIENCE, GOOGLE, MLB, PITCH SMART AND MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PUT OUT THESE GUIDELINES THE BASED ON YOUR AGE TEENAGERS OF 7 ALL THE WAY TO 19 AND BASE A NUMBER OF LIVE GAME PITCHES. HOW MUCH REST SHOULD THEN BE PERFORMED THEREAFTER. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, LET'S SAY YOU ARE AT 70 YEAR-OLD HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR. YOU THROW 100 PITCHES DURING A START. YOU THEN HAVE TO REST FOR 5 DAYS. AND THERE'S ALL THE THESE GUIDELINES ON THAT. AND WHAT HAPPENED IS MLB PUT THESE OUT. AND THEN 2 YEARS LATER IN 2016, THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF STATE HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONS, THEY HAVE A RULE THAT SAID EVERY SINGLE STATE ASSOCIATION HAD TO DEVELOP PITCH COUNT GUIDELINES FOR THEIR PICTURES. SO WOULD A LOT OF STATES THAT IS THEY TOOK THE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PITCH COUNT GUIDELINES AND THEN EITHER USE THAT AS THEIR POLICY OR THEY DEVELOP SIMILAR GUIDELINES. AND SO IN FLORIDA. SO IF THE F H S A THEY HAVE ADVISED THAT WE FOLLOW MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL'S PITCH SMART GUIDELINES AND IF THE GUIDELINES AREN'T FOLLOWED, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO REFER TO THE F H S A BUT WHAT THE PENALTIES WOULD BE. >> DR JASON'S AROUND SKEEN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SPIKE TO SPEAK WITH US. OUR PLEASURE. THANKS SO MUCH.