Dr. James Andrews on Youth Pitching Injuries

When it comes to sports injuries, there is one name that pretty much always comes up – Dr. James Andrews. Dr. Andrews is a well-known orthopedic surgeon who has performed probably as many Tommy John surgeries as anyone in the world. As such, his expertise in this area is not to be disregarded. I would also add that one aspect that he doesn’t specifically address or note is that of practice. So often we only consider what is taking place during games – the pitch counts – and disregard what is happening during practice and training, which is where much of the wear, tear, and fatigue usually comes from. Hence the importance of an intelligent coach who can prescribe loads that are in line with the athlete’s needs.