- Feb 4, 2009
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from the Clarion-Ledger
Dr. Do-it-all
Renowned surgeon Andrews preaches caution with teens
July 3, 2009
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Dr. James Andrews, the world's most renowned surgeon, has accomplished fame and fortune repairing the bones and sinew of sport's most accomplished athletes.
Now, at age 67, the remarkably energetic Andrews leads the charge to reduce the need for such surgeries, especially among teen-aged athletes.
Andrews, in town Thursday lecturing and demonstrating for the fellows at Mississippi Sports Medicine, took time away from his teaching to continue his crusade.
His message: Too many kids are being asked to do too much, too soon, resulting in career-threatening, major surgery-requiring injuries. The poster child for what Andrews calls "overuse" injuries probably won't surprise you any more than it did me: youth baseball.
"Think about this," Andrews said, pointing his finger at a reporter for emphasis, "we do a better job of protecting the arms of major league pitchers than we do the arms of 10-year-olds. I ask you: Does that make any sense at all?"
No, of course not.
Further, Andrews said, such overuse of the arms of 10-, 11- and 12-year-olds sometimes won't result in significant injury until the child is pitching in college or the minor leagues 10 years later.
"You hear youth coaches say all the time, 'I've never had an arm problem under my watch,' " Andrews said. "And I think to myself, 'No, but some high school or college coach is dealing with the damage you caused years ago.' "
Andrews says he can look at the X-rays of 20-year-old's elbow requiring Tommy John surgery and see where the damage started years and years before.
What feels like nothing more than a sore arm at age 10 can result in shoulder or elbow surgery years later.
Andrews stresses what many of us laymen have contended for years: Year-round baseball for adolescents is not only stupid, it's dangerous. Young arms need rest. They also need to be on a strict pitch count.
"I operated on a 12-year-old a couple weeks ago," Andrews said. "He had pitched six innings on a Friday night, two more innings the next morning in a 9 o'clock game and then three more on Sunday.
"You wouldn't ask a major leaguer to do that. Why would you ask it of a kid?"
Little League Baseball, at the urging of people such as Andrews, has implemented strict, sensible pitch count limits at all age levels.
"The problem you have is that there are so many different youth league organizations, and they don't go by the same rules," Andrews said.
My pet peeve has long been the local youth leagues (both recreation leagues and select ball) that use an innings-per-week limit for pitchers. Anybody who knows anything about baseball knows that innings pitched is not an accurate measurement of stress on an arm. One kid might throw 10-pitch innings. Another might throw 35-pitch innings. It's the number of pitches that matter, not the innings. Over the course of six innings, you might have one kid throw 70 pitches, which is manageable, and another throw 160, which is criminal.
The result?
"We have seen a five-fold increase in the number of injuries among young athletes since the year 2000," Andrews said.
Andrews is especially alarmed at the increase in injuries he is seeing among young females, especially softball pitchers. He particularly rejects the myth that a fastpitch softball pitcher can throw game after game after game without wear and tear on her arm.
"I don't care whether you're throwing overhand or underhand," Andrews said. "When you are throwing the ball 60 and 70 miles per hour, you are putting a great deal of stress on that arm, especially if it's a young, undeveloped arm."
Mix it up
You, as I, probably would have some questions for Andrews. Such as:
When should a young pitcher be allowed to throw a curveball?
"Not until he needs to shave," Andrews said. "That's when the growth plates usually have closed. It varies from child to child, but usually around the age of 14. No way should a kid throw a breaking pitch before he shaves."
Is specialization in a single sport good for young athletes?
"No child should be playing one sport year-round, in my opinion, and that's especially true of baseball," Andrews said. "A child's arm needs at least four or five months a year of rest."
Does he ever find himself feeling extra pressure when he's operating on, say, Michael Jordan or Jack Nicklaus?
"Not really, although I will tell you that when I was a lot younger and was operating on Jack Nicklaus's knee (26 years ago), I walked in the room and I thought to myself, 'Oh my gosh, this is Jack Nicklaus. I sure hope I've got the right knee.' "
Brett Favre?
"I'm not supposed to say anything but Brett kind of let that cat out of the bag on that HBO show," Andrews said. "I did his shoulder (arthroscopic) a few weeks ago. I visited him in Hattiesburg two weeks ago. He wants to play and he wants to play for the Minnesota Vikings. He wants to end his career on a high note and I hope he can. He's a tough guy, a great guy. I'm pulling for him. He wants to play. He just wants to make sure his shoulder and arm are healthy enough."
Favre will turn 40 this October. At this point in his medical career, the renowned Jim Andrews seems much more concerned with teens. You ask me, that's much to his credit.
Making the Cut
Will Carroll, author of Baseball Prospectus, argues Dr. James Andrews should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. With a client list like this, maybe he should be in the Football and Basketball Halls of Fame as well:
Dr. Do-it-all
Renowned surgeon Andrews preaches caution with teens
July 3, 2009
Read Comments(9)Recommend(3)Print this page E-mail this article Share Del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Buzz up!Twitter
Dr. James Andrews, the world's most renowned surgeon, has accomplished fame and fortune repairing the bones and sinew of sport's most accomplished athletes.
Now, at age 67, the remarkably energetic Andrews leads the charge to reduce the need for such surgeries, especially among teen-aged athletes.
Andrews, in town Thursday lecturing and demonstrating for the fellows at Mississippi Sports Medicine, took time away from his teaching to continue his crusade.
His message: Too many kids are being asked to do too much, too soon, resulting in career-threatening, major surgery-requiring injuries. The poster child for what Andrews calls "overuse" injuries probably won't surprise you any more than it did me: youth baseball.
"Think about this," Andrews said, pointing his finger at a reporter for emphasis, "we do a better job of protecting the arms of major league pitchers than we do the arms of 10-year-olds. I ask you: Does that make any sense at all?"
No, of course not.
Further, Andrews said, such overuse of the arms of 10-, 11- and 12-year-olds sometimes won't result in significant injury until the child is pitching in college or the minor leagues 10 years later.
"You hear youth coaches say all the time, 'I've never had an arm problem under my watch,' " Andrews said. "And I think to myself, 'No, but some high school or college coach is dealing with the damage you caused years ago.' "
Andrews says he can look at the X-rays of 20-year-old's elbow requiring Tommy John surgery and see where the damage started years and years before.
What feels like nothing more than a sore arm at age 10 can result in shoulder or elbow surgery years later.
Andrews stresses what many of us laymen have contended for years: Year-round baseball for adolescents is not only stupid, it's dangerous. Young arms need rest. They also need to be on a strict pitch count.
"I operated on a 12-year-old a couple weeks ago," Andrews said. "He had pitched six innings on a Friday night, two more innings the next morning in a 9 o'clock game and then three more on Sunday.
"You wouldn't ask a major leaguer to do that. Why would you ask it of a kid?"
Little League Baseball, at the urging of people such as Andrews, has implemented strict, sensible pitch count limits at all age levels.
"The problem you have is that there are so many different youth league organizations, and they don't go by the same rules," Andrews said.
My pet peeve has long been the local youth leagues (both recreation leagues and select ball) that use an innings-per-week limit for pitchers. Anybody who knows anything about baseball knows that innings pitched is not an accurate measurement of stress on an arm. One kid might throw 10-pitch innings. Another might throw 35-pitch innings. It's the number of pitches that matter, not the innings. Over the course of six innings, you might have one kid throw 70 pitches, which is manageable, and another throw 160, which is criminal.
The result?
"We have seen a five-fold increase in the number of injuries among young athletes since the year 2000," Andrews said.
Andrews is especially alarmed at the increase in injuries he is seeing among young females, especially softball pitchers. He particularly rejects the myth that a fastpitch softball pitcher can throw game after game after game without wear and tear on her arm.
"I don't care whether you're throwing overhand or underhand," Andrews said. "When you are throwing the ball 60 and 70 miles per hour, you are putting a great deal of stress on that arm, especially if it's a young, undeveloped arm."
Mix it up
You, as I, probably would have some questions for Andrews. Such as:
When should a young pitcher be allowed to throw a curveball?
"Not until he needs to shave," Andrews said. "That's when the growth plates usually have closed. It varies from child to child, but usually around the age of 14. No way should a kid throw a breaking pitch before he shaves."
Is specialization in a single sport good for young athletes?
"No child should be playing one sport year-round, in my opinion, and that's especially true of baseball," Andrews said. "A child's arm needs at least four or five months a year of rest."
Does he ever find himself feeling extra pressure when he's operating on, say, Michael Jordan or Jack Nicklaus?
"Not really, although I will tell you that when I was a lot younger and was operating on Jack Nicklaus's knee (26 years ago), I walked in the room and I thought to myself, 'Oh my gosh, this is Jack Nicklaus. I sure hope I've got the right knee.' "
Brett Favre?
"I'm not supposed to say anything but Brett kind of let that cat out of the bag on that HBO show," Andrews said. "I did his shoulder (arthroscopic) a few weeks ago. I visited him in Hattiesburg two weeks ago. He wants to play and he wants to play for the Minnesota Vikings. He wants to end his career on a high note and I hope he can. He's a tough guy, a great guy. I'm pulling for him. He wants to play. He just wants to make sure his shoulder and arm are healthy enough."
Favre will turn 40 this October. At this point in his medical career, the renowned Jim Andrews seems much more concerned with teens. You ask me, that's much to his credit.
Making the Cut
Will Carroll, author of Baseball Prospectus, argues Dr. James Andrews should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. With a client list like this, maybe he should be in the Football and Basketball Halls of Fame as well:
