Acute, avulsion fractures of the medial epicondyle while throwing in youth baseball players: A variant of Little League elbow

Medial elbow injury in young throwing athletes

“…Following apophyseal ossification during adolescence there is a shift in the presentation of medial elbow injuries. Osbahr et al 31 evaluated 8 male baseball players, mean 13 years of age (range = 11-15 years) with medial epicondyle avulsion fractures that occurred while throwing. All 8 subjects played multiple fielding positions, but pitcher was one of the primary positions they played.…”

“…Among the 3 players who did not qualify for this assessment, two had pitch counts that exceeded the maximum number recommended for [13][14][15] year old players in one game (75 pitches/game). The final 15 year old pitcher threw fewer than 75 pitches but stayed in the game as an outfielder where he injured his elbow during a long throw late in the game 31 . With maturation there is a shift from growth plate injuries to ligamentous injury, flexor-pronator musculature strain, and ulnar neuritis 23,32,33 .…”

Optimal management of physeal elbow injuries in the skeletally immature athlete remains undefined: a systematic review

“…Furthermore, provider preferences may have contributed to differences in reported return to play times between studies. Only one study assessed return to play for both non-operative and operative management 25. Within that population, non-operative and operative management led to return to play times of 8.4 and 6.3 months, respectively.…”

Medial epicondyle fractures in children

“…Options for fixation include sutures, Kirschner wires (K-wires), cannulated screws, and excision of the fragment with advancement of the medial soft tissues [ [34][35][36][37] suggest the use of K-wires in younger children and cannulated screws in older children. Sutures are typically used only for very small or comminuted fragments.…”