How We're Harming Young Athletes

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That wasn't the only compromise. ASMI had also recommended that pitches be limited to 1,000 a season and 3,000 pitches a year. But the sports organization chose not to follow through on those guidelines, at least for now. "There is no way we could enforce or mandate it," says Stephen Keener, president and chief executive of Little League Baseball and Softball. "We understand the reasons for the season-long cap and why they are suggesting the kids do it, but we don't have any way to control it. It's already such a dramatic change in how we legislate pitching."

It's understandable that Little League officials find themselves in a bind. Even before the new limits go into effect, there are plenty of parents and coaches who think the organization is not competitive enough and are choosing to participate in one or more travel teams that often don't restrict pitching. There's no guarantee that anyone will follow Little League's lead in counting pitches. Then the question becomes, Which will your child have longer--a nice, shiny trophy from winning a tournament or the injury he or she sustained getting it? ELBOW

Kids who play sports like baseball and tennis risk elbow injuries from repeated throwing and hitting. The growth plate at the end of a bone is especially vulnerable: fracturing or tearing away of the bone can cause the plate to become deformed

SPINE

Activities such as cheerleading, gymnastics and football can lead to a fracture of the spine (spondylolysis)--typically at the fourth or fifth lumbar vertebra--or to spondylolisthesis, in which one vertebra slips away from its neighbor. Both cause chronic lower back pain, which is otherwise uncommon in children

KNEE

The pain and swelling of Osgood-Schlatter disease, which is more common in boys, comes from irritation of the growth plate just below the kneecap as well as of the tendon that stretches across the kneecap