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Sports such as baseball, which majorly involve constant overhand throws can place great amounts of stress on the elbow as well as any other throwing sport. The constant stress baseball pitchers or other
throwing athletes experience can many times cause serious overuse injury. Overuse
injuries, in difference to trauma from an injury, usually develops gradually over
time due to the frequent athletic movements athletes participate i during the sport and, as a result, the body is not given the necessary time needed to rest and repair itself.
Injuries
from throwing sports mainly occur at the inside of the elbow. During a throw,
an athlete uses considerable force over the inner elbow to throw continuously at great speeds, concentrating stress on the elbow.
Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injury
The ulnar
collateral ligament, or UCL, is referred to as the ligament most commonly injured among throwing athletes. Found on the inside part of the elbow, the UCL runs from the inner part of the humerus to the inner part of the ulna. The
ligament can tolerate an utmost amount of stress to be able to stabilize the elbow during
overhand throwing. Ulnar collateral ligament injuries can range from minor irritation to a complete tear
of the ligament.
The most
commonly known symptom of an ulnar collateral ligament injury is direct pain
over the location of the ligament on the innermost area of the elbow. Other frequent symptoms include pain experienced while throwing, a “popping” sensation when
the pain begins, inflammation on the elbow, numbness and/or a tingling
sensation felt in the hand and fingers, and a decrease
in the velocity of the affected athlete’s pitch or a limited ability to throw.
In majority of cases, the pain and symptoms of a UCL injury will resolve when the athlete stops throwing. This type of injury rarely occurs in
non-throwers. In throwing sports like baseball, the risk of developing an ulnar collateral ligament injury depends on each athlete, mainly because damage is independent to an individual according to the amount of time spent practicing
throws, to the velocity of a throw, and even depending on how tall and heavy
the athlete is.
Even so, it’s
always important to receive a careful evaluation of any suspected injury
because not every elbow pain in a throwing athlete can be a UCL injury.
By Dr. Alex
Jimenez
