Abstract
Recently, there has been an alarming increase in the rate of elbow injuries in throwers of all ages. In fact, injury to the medial ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) has increased in both amateur and professional players, with one study demonstrating a 50% increase in UCL reconstructions in high school athletes between 1988 and 2003. Injury to the ulnar collateral ligament results in a significant loss of participation time. While these injuries are not completely avoidable, there are modifiable risks factors and preventative strategies to decrease their incidence. This chapter reviews the risk factors for and preventative strategies to avoid injury to the medial ulnar collateral ligament at the youth, adolescent, and professional level.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Nuckols B. Put me in, coach: youth baseball participation on the rise. USA Today. 2019;August(23):2019.
Petty DH, Andrews JR, Fleisig GS, Cain EL. Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction in high school baseball players: clinical results and injury risk factors. Am J Sports Med. 2004;32(5):1158–64.
Fleisig GS, Andrews JR. Prevention of elbow injuries in youth baseball pitchers. Sports Health. 2012;4(5):419–24.
Yang J, Mann BJ, Guettler JH, Dugas JR, Irrgang JJ, Fleisig GS, et al. Risk-prone pitching activities and injuries in youth baseball: findings from a national sample. Am J Sports Med. 2014;42(6):1456–63.
Makhni EC, Morrow ZS, Luchetti TJ, Mishra-Kalyani PS, Gualtieri AP, Lee RW, et al. Arm pain in youth baseball players: a survey of healthy players. Am J Sports Med. 2015;43(1):41–6.
Popkin CA, Bayomy AF, Ahmad CS. Early sport specialization. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2019;27(22):e995–e1000.
Fleisig GS, Andrews JR, Cutter GR, Weber A, Loftice J, McMichael C, et al. Risk of serious injury for young baseball pitchers: a 10-year prospective study. Am J Sports Med. 2011;39(2):253–7.
Olsen SJ 2nd, Fleisig GS, Dun S, Loftice J, Andrews JR. Risk factors for shoulder and elbow injuries in adolescent baseball pitchers. Am J Sports Med. 2006;34(6):905–12.
Matthys SP, Vaeyens R, Coelho ESMJ, Lenoir M, Philippaerts R. The contribution of growth and maturation in the functional capacity and skill performance of male adolescent handball players. Int J Sports Med. 2012;33(7):543–9.
Melugin HP, Leafblad ND, Camp CL, Conte S. Injury prevention in baseball: from youth to the pros. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2018;11(1):26–34.
Chalmers PN, Sgroi T, Riff AJ, Lesniak M, Sayegh ET, Verma NN, et al. Correlates with history of injury in youth and adolescent pitchers. Arthroscopy. 2015;31(7):1349–57.
Dun S, Loftice J, Fleisig GS, Kingsley D, Andrews JR. A biomechanical comparison of youth baseball pitches: is the curveball potentially harmful? Am J Sports Med. 2008;36(4):686–92.
Nissen CW, Westwell M, Ounpuu S, Patel M, Solomito M, Tate J. A biomechanical comparison of the fastball and curveball in adolescent baseball pitchers. Am J Sports Med. 2009;37(8):1492–8.
Oliver GD, Plummer H, Henning L, Saper M, Glimer G, Brambeck A, et al. Effects of a simulated game on upper extremity pitching mechanics and muscle activations among various pitch types in youth baseball pitchers. J Pediatr Orthop. 2019;39(8):387–93.
https://www.mlb.com/pitch-smart. Major League Baseball; 2020.
Bohne C, George SZ, Zeppieri GJ. Knowledge of injury prevention and prevalence of risk factors for throwing injuries in a sample of youth baseball players. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2015;10(4):464–75.
Ahmad CS, Grantham WJ, Greiwe RM. Public perceptions of Tommy John surgery. Phys Sportsmed. 2012;40(2):64–72.
Davis JT, Limpisvasti O, Fluhme D, Mohr KJ, Yocum LA, Elattrache NS, et al. The effect of pitching biomechanics on the upper extremity in youth and adolescent baseball pitchers. Am J Sports Med. 2009;37(8):1484–91.
Knapik DM, Continenza SM, Hoffman K, Gilmore A. Youth baseball coach awareness of pitch count guidelines and overuse throwing injuries remains deficient. J Pediatr Orthop. 2018;38(10):e623–e8.
DeRenne CBB, Hetzler RK, Ho KW. Effects of under-and-overweighted implement training on pitching velocity. J Strength Cond Res. 1994;8:247–50.
Derenne C, Ho KW, Murphy JC. Effects of general, special, and specific resistance training on throwing velocity in baseball: a brief review. J Strength Cond Res. 2001;15(1):148–56.
Derenne CSD. Effects of baseball weighted implement training: a brief review. Strength Cond J. 2009;31:30–7.
Escamilla RF, Speer KP, Fleisig GS, Barrentine SW, Andrews JR. Effects of throwing overweight and underweight baseballs on throwing velocity and accuracy. Sports Med. 2000;29(4):259–72.
Fleisig GS, Diffendaffer AZ, Aune KT, Ivey B, Laughlin WA. Biomechanical analysis of weighted-ball exercises for baseball pitchers. Sports Health. 2017;9(3):210–5.
Reinold MM, Macrina LC, Fleisig GS, Aune K, Andrews JR. Effect of a 6-week weighted baseball throwing program on pitch velocity, pitching arm biomechanics, passive range of motion, and injury rates. Sports Health. 2018;10(4):327–33.
www.drivelinebaseball.com. 2020.
Dines JS, Frank JB, Akerman M, Yocum LA. Glenohumeral internal rotation deficits in baseball players with ulnar collateral ligament insufficiency. Am J Sports Med. 2009;37(3):566–70.
Garrison JC, Arnold A, Macko MJ, Conway JE. Baseball players diagnosed with ulnar collateral ligament tears demonstrate decreased balance compared to healthy controls. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2013;43(10):752–8.
Conte S, Camp CL, Dines JS. Injury trends in major league baseball over 18 seasons: 1998–2015. Am J Orthop (Belle Mead NJ). 2016;45(3):116–23.
Erickson BJ, Bach BRJ, Bush-Joseph CA, Verma NN, Romeo AA. Medial ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction of the elbow in major league baseball players: where do we stand? World J Orthop. 2016;7(6):355–60.
Portney DA, Buchler LT, Lazaroff JM, Gryzlo SM, Saltzman MD. Influence of pitching release location on ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction risk among major league baseball pitchers. Orthop J Sports Med. 2019;7(2):2325967119826540.
Keller RA, Marshall NE, Guest JM, Okoroha KR, Jung EK, Moutzouros V. Major League Baseball pitch velocity and pitch type associated with risk of ulnar collateral ligament injury. J Shoulder Elb Surg. 2016;25(4):671–5.
Crotin RL, Bhan S, Karakolis T, Ramsey DK. Fastball velocity trends in short-season minor league baseball. J Strength Cond Res. 2013;27(8):2206–12.
Keller RA, Mehran N, Marshall NE, Okoroha KR, Khalil L, Tibone JE, et al. Major League pitching workload after primary ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction and risk for revision surgery. J Shoulder Elb Surg. 2017;26(2):288–94.
Vance DD, Alexander FJ, Kunkle BW, Littlefield M, Ahmad CS. Professional and amateur pitchers’ perspective on the ulnar collateral ligament injury risk. Orthop J Sports Med. 2019;7(6):2325967119850777.
Chalmers PN, Erickson BJ, Ball B, Romeo AA, Verma NN. Fastball pitch velocity helps predict ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction in major league baseball pitchers. Am J Sports Med. 2016;44(8):2130–5.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schulz, B.M., Stein, S.M., Conte, S.A. (2021). Medial Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injury Prevention Strategies. In: Dines, J.S., Camp, C.L., Altchek, D.W. (eds) Elbow Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injury. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69567-5_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69567-5_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-69566-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-69567-5
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)