LITTLE LEAGUE’S ELBOW IN UNDER FIFTEEN CRICKETERS

Abstract

Background: Little League elbow is an overuse injury of the skeletally immature elbow caused by repetitive valgus stress during throwing activities. It commonly affects the medial elbow and may lead to pain, functional limitation, and reduced throwing performance if not recognized early. Although the condition has been widely described in young baseball players, evidence in adolescent cricketers remains limited. This created a need to examine its occurrence in young cricket players exposed to repetitive throwing loads.

Objective: To determine the frequency of Little League elbow among under-15 male cricketers in Lahore.

Methods: A descriptive case series was conducted over six months after synopsis approval. A total of 93 right-hand-dominant male cricketers aged 7 to 15 years were recruited through non-probability convenience sampling from Ittefaq Cricket Academy, Model Town Punjab Cricket Academy, Model Town Green Cricket Academy, and Abdul Qadir International Cricket Academy, Lahore. Players with previous elbow trauma or other significant elbow pathology were excluded. Data were collected using a self-structured observational questionnaire developed from relevant variables used in earlier studies and content-validated according to University of Health Sciences criteria. The tool demonstrated high internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.91. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 21 using descriptive statistics.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 13.01 ± 1.74 years, with an age range of 7-15 years. Little League elbow was indicated in 2 players (2.2%), while 91 (97.8%) showed no indication. Pain in the pitching arm on elbow extension was reported by 2 players (2.2%), and increased pain with activity was also found in 2 players (2.2%). One player (1.1%) reported a jerk during throwing, whereas none had point tenderness at the medial epicondyle. All participants were regular players and all reported throwing more than 100 pitches per week. Most players, 83 (89.2%), also threw in non-competition settings.

Conclusion: Little League elbow was identified in a small proportion of under-15 cricketers in Lahore, indicating that repetitive throwing exposure can affect medial elbow health even in young cricket players. The findings support the importance of early screening, supervised training, and preventive strategies in youth cricket.

Keywords: Adolescent; Athletic Injuries; Cricket; Elbow Joint; Male; Pain; Prevalence