Expert: Dennis Girardi - 9/3/2008

Question
My son is 10 yrs old and has recently complained the top an a little of the the bottom of his elbow is sore..He is very active kids who plays baseball and other sports. After our spring/summer season I shut him down except for playing light catch once a week. We started our fall season recently and during our warm ups is when he came over to tell me his elbow was sore. I had him stretch his arm more and had him play catch again to see if it would work itself out..this didn't work so I did not let him throw any more..is there anything I should be concerned about because he has never complained of a sore elbow before..thank you

Answer
Hey Jim,
Without seeing your son, I can't be of much help.
I can tell you that the best way to throw is three quarters. Throwing directly over hand can cause unnecessary strain on the arm.  Sometimes just changing his mechanics can help. I hope he is throwing just fast balls and change ups. He is much too young to be messing with a curve ball.
Good Luck.
Dennis