{"id":246987,"date":"2026-06-02T08:00:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=246987&preview=true&preview_id=246987"},"modified":"2026-06-02T08:27:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:27:04","slug":"healthy-rounds-kids-on-a-pitch-count","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/06\/healthy-rounds-kids-on-a-pitch-count\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Healthy Rounds\u2019: Kids on a Pitch Count"},"content":{"rendered":"
\""Healthy<\/a>
Dr. Anthony Alessi\u2019s \u201cHealthy Rounds\u201d radio program is now a UConn Health podcast<\/a>. (Tina Encarnacion\/ UConn Health photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1974, a 31-year-old pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers underwent a new procedure to repair the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his left elbow. His name was Tommy John, and so would become the name of the surgery. Today, it\u2019s not unheard of for baseball players to get Tommy John surgery before they turn 20. One factor is, it\u2019s become the norm for many child athletes to specialize, for example, playing baseball not just during Little League season, but throughout the year. With that has come an upward trend in upper extremity injuries, and elbow and shoulder surgeries as adolescents.<\/p>\n

Dr. Cory Edgar<\/a>, UConn Health orthopedic surgeon and co-director of the\u00a0UConn Institute for Sports Medicine<\/a>, joins\u00a0Dr. Anthony Alessi<\/a>\u00a0to discuss youth sports injuries, the risks of playing a sport year-round with no downtime, the importance of pitch counts, and what parents might consider when it comes to their children\u2019s participation in youth sports.<\/p>\n

\n

W<\/span>e\u2019re seeing an uptick in injuries to the elbow and the shoulder in younger athletes for a variety of reasons. — Dr. Cory Edgar<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Listen now:<\/h3>\n