Acute Injuries of the Lumbar Neural Arch in Adolescents - Radsource
This is one of the articles I found in my research - I wanted to post it in a new thread so as not to hijack the direction of the other pars thread. My DD was diagnosed 8 months ago with stress fractures in the L5 pedicles and pars interarticularis regions, along with bulging discs in the L4-L5 and L5-S1. She is progressing very nicely through her recovery and is pitching a few innings at a time in games. She mentioned the other day that her back is feeling physically stronger than ever before.
DD went through a period of rapid growth, which could have contributed to her condition. DD was a late grower; her growth spurt didn't happen until about age 15 - the injury occurred just after she turned 16. Our doctor recommended Tylenol (acetaminophen) over Advil (ibuprofen) as a pain reliever because ibuprofen has been shown, in some research, to inhibit bone growth in young people. He prescribed a muscle relaxer to help with the muscle spasms which were causing her a great deal of pain. Teenage athletes can have a tendency to pass around Advil like it's candy; their sense of immortality along with the "if a little is good, a lot is better" thinking can get them into trouble. DD pitched in three games last fall after she had noticed pain, but was not yet diagnosed. She recently admitted to me that she took four Advil before her final game in which the school's athletic trainer removed her from the game in the third inning. I am so thankful to our school's trainer - a broken back was the last thing on my mind; I was truly ignorant to this type of injury and DD was downplaying her level of pain when she described it to me. Even on the way into the doctor's office she said, "I'm afraid he's going to say it's nothing, and that just means I'm weak (mentally and physically)"
Anyway I hope this helps - not every young pitcher will get a back injury, there are truly lots of other contributing factors; it is just something to keep in mind.
This is one of the articles I found in my research - I wanted to post it in a new thread so as not to hijack the direction of the other pars thread. My DD was diagnosed 8 months ago with stress fractures in the L5 pedicles and pars interarticularis regions, along with bulging discs in the L4-L5 and L5-S1. She is progressing very nicely through her recovery and is pitching a few innings at a time in games. She mentioned the other day that her back is feeling physically stronger than ever before.
DD went through a period of rapid growth, which could have contributed to her condition. DD was a late grower; her growth spurt didn't happen until about age 15 - the injury occurred just after she turned 16. Our doctor recommended Tylenol (acetaminophen) over Advil (ibuprofen) as a pain reliever because ibuprofen has been shown, in some research, to inhibit bone growth in young people. He prescribed a muscle relaxer to help with the muscle spasms which were causing her a great deal of pain. Teenage athletes can have a tendency to pass around Advil like it's candy; their sense of immortality along with the "if a little is good, a lot is better" thinking can get them into trouble. DD pitched in three games last fall after she had noticed pain, but was not yet diagnosed. She recently admitted to me that she took four Advil before her final game in which the school's athletic trainer removed her from the game in the third inning. I am so thankful to our school's trainer - a broken back was the last thing on my mind; I was truly ignorant to this type of injury and DD was downplaying her level of pain when she described it to me. Even on the way into the doctor's office she said, "I'm afraid he's going to say it's nothing, and that just means I'm weak (mentally and physically)"
Anyway I hope this helps - not every young pitcher will get a back injury, there are truly lots of other contributing factors; it is just something to keep in mind.
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