Q: My son is 11 years old and pitches for his baseball team. I am concerned he may injure his shoulder because he is throwing curve balls. Is it advisable to have a child this young throw curve balls?

A: As a coach, father and chiropractor with 10 and 8 year old sons that are baseball players, I will advise you in each category.

As a coach you want a child to learn the fundamentals of pitching first. A proper pitching motion puts minimal stress on the body and simultaneously allows for efficient reproducible accuracy and speed change. Many professional pitchers choose not to throw curve balls because of the mechanics and its effect on their shoulders, arms and wrists.

As a father my priorities are my children’s safety, learning and having fun. If mastering a curve at this age is in any way interference with proper learning and enjoyment, it is not worth pushing the issue.

As a chiropractor with 20 years experience of treating sports injuries to young athletes, I would always say absolutely no to curve balls even into the high school years. This can be considered a controversial position but my opinion is based on clinical experience.

My reasoning is based on the fact that at as late as even 17 years old, the secondary growth plates are not totally solidified. There is potential continued growth. The tendons and ligaments of the shoulder, elbow and wrist attach to the boney extensions around the growth plates. Excessive torque as in the rotating action of the wrist and elbow in a curve ball pitch can over stress these insertions of the ligaments and tendons near the growth plates. A damaged growth plate can cause a permanent disfigurement to the joint as well as functionally damaging the joint.

The shoulder is surrounded by a rotator cuff of 4 muscles inserting into the same boney protrusion.. A disruption of this joint can irritate any of these 4 muscles.

The best protocol of a dad, or coach helping his son or daughter learn to pitch, is use safety and fundamentals first. Never force a child to continue a motion if they complain of pain or discomfort. Ask yourself if the motion looks fluent and comfortable. Ask your child if the motion feels fluent and comfortable. Don’t add additional pitches until your child masters the basic pitches.

If you child is injured or in pain consider a chiropractor as a primary treating physician for their sports injury.

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