13-Year-old Pitcher in Physical Rehabilitation - Young athletes need careful monitoring on and off the field

A love, passion and talent for baseball run deep in the Ferrara family from New Jersey.  David Ferrara, 46, a restaurant owner from Roxbury, NJ, played baseball at Ithaca College, coached youth baseball for years and is an assistant coach for his 15-year-old son’s high school team.  So when his younger son, Andrew, now 13, started sharing that passion and showed an almost innate talent for baseball from the age of six, baseball had truly become a bond that tied the family together.

“Andrew is a natural athlete with an amazing arm.  He puts everything he has into what he’s doing and loves being part of a team,” said his mother, Wendy, 43 a Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) teacher and a licensed physical therapist.  “David and I recognized that talent and Andrew’s love for the game right from the start, so we’ve always been supportive.”

By age 12,  the sixth-grader, who at 5'7" and 180 pounds was big for his age, was throwing 65-70 mile per hour fastballs and playing in three baseball leagues at once – a local recreation team, an elite club team, and a traveling All-Star team. Baseball had become Andrew’s life, and he didn’t want it any other way.

Last March, as Andrew was preparing for another busy baseball season, he had some on-and-off soreness in his arm during training and practices.  He just chalked it up to the normal aches and pains he’d grown accustomed to when starting a new season and didn't really complain about it.  The season started and Andrew's teams continued their winning ways and the recreation team found themselves in the May playoffs. 

He pitched four games and won all four. He was tired, his arm was sore, but not wanting to be sidelined or disappoint his team, coach and family, Andrew kept quiet as his team headed toward the championship game. 

"It was very exciting watching the kids get to this point.  But in retrospect, it was a lot of pressure for a kid.  There was no way Andrew would want to miss the final game," Wendy said.

The atmosphere was charged as the kids took the field with Andrew on the mound.  The team was on their way to becoming the league champs when in the fourth inning of a six inning game, Andrew threw a fastball and felt and heard a pop in his elbow.  He stopped pitching for the last couple inning though he continued to play as a catcher.  His mom, who was watching from the bleachers, had no idea he was playing hurt. 

After the game was over and Andrew’s team won, he told his mom what happened.  She immediately took him to a sports medicine physician who performed an MRI that showed he sustained a partial ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tear in his elbow.  A UCL tear usually happens gradually and a season of three to five baseball games and practices a week had finally taken its toll on Andrew’s arm.  And though there were no tears in his shoulder, yet, Andrew felt pain there too.

The doctor benched him from throwing!  He told Andrew he would need at least six weeks of rehab and could not even throw a ball for at least three to six months.  He also told Andrew that if he did any overhead activity and fully ruptured that torn ligament, he may never be able to pitch again.  Later, Andrew’s family and orthopaedist agreed that Andrew should refrain from pitching for a least a year to let his injury fully heal.

“We were devastated and absolutely shocked,” said Wendy.  “How could this happen? We had our fair share of injuries throughout the years, but never something like this.  He was only 12.”

Nationally, the number of serious shoulder and elbow injuries in youth baseball and softball players has increased fivefold in the past 10 years, according to the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.  A recent study of 152 players aged eight through 12, showed that 25 percent complained of elbow pain, and more than half of those with injuries were pitchers.

"Encouraging children to play sports is one of the best ways to help them stay fit and learn valuable lessons that they can carry for a lifetime," said John Hurley, MD, Andrew's orthopedic surgeon from Summit Medical Group in Morristown, NJ, who also works with Safe Kids Worldwide. "But young athletes need careful monitoring on and off the field to make sure they don't overexert themselves, play in pain or return to activity too quickly after an injury." 

The good news is Andrew’s injury created a new awareness within his family, other sports families in the community and coaches.  The New Jersey youth sports community is now paying closer attention to the early warning signs their kids show that mean they may be hurt or pushing their limits.

As a physical therapist and athlete herself, Wendy says that if an overuse injury can happen in her family, it can happen to anyone.  “When you have a dedicated child who always wants to be in the game, it’s so hard to tell how much is too much for them.  But I really think this experience made us all as parents realize that monitoring what they’re doing and how much they’re doing is critical. It's also important to educate our children about sports injuries and that it's okay to tell adults if they're hurting."

After the initial shock of being told he would have to stop pitching for a year, Andrew came to terms with what he had to do.  He dedicated himself to physical therapy and rehabilitation and he’s been cleared to play baseball, as long as he doesn’t throw.  He’s now a designated hitter.  The active 13-year-old has also taken up another sport, football.  And while injuries can happen there too, everyone is more vigilant about taking precautions to prevent injury. 

“The bottom line is this – when you have an active kid, injuries can happen,” said Wendy.  “You can't keep them in the house all day, but if the adults are in tune with special needs of young athletes, we can certainly prevent a lot of injuries and help them have even more fun with sports."