Patient Stories

Well Armed: A Little Leaguer Protects His Future in Baseball

Since the age of four, Andrew knew he wanted to play baseball. He started, like most kids, with the local Little League team. By the time he was seven years old, he made the eight-year-old travel team.

In addition to practicing with his dad at home, he played all through the spring, summer, fall, and winter, and by the end of the year he was a very strong pitcher. Concerned his son may over-exert his arm, Andrew’s dad did some research and discovered the Thrower’s Performance Program at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS).

It was in September 2009 when Andrew first met with Mickey Levinson, a Physical Therapist and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and Polly de Mille, an ExercisePhysiologist, at the HSS Sports Rehabilitation and Performance Center. The Center’s expert team includes physical therapists, certified strength and conditioning specialists, exercise physiologists, and a former professional baseball pitcher, all working together to provide the throwing athlete with a sport specific musculoskeletal and performance assessment. The team’s main goal is to help pitchers of all ages prevent injury while performing at his or her highest possible level.

Mickey explained to Andrew how Little League and adolescent throwers are susceptible to many of the same stresses as adult and pro players. Injuries that occur at a young age can often develop into more serious problems as the player matures. Their program would offer Andrew the tools he needed to change any bad pitching habits, which in turn would prevent and