The value of physical examination in conjunction with a survey for identifying youth pitchers with arm pain.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a screening survey in identifying injuries in youth baseball pitchers. It is hypothesized that a standalone survey is unlikely to give a complete picture and that an additional physical examination is necessary to identify all injuries.

Methods: Seventy-seven youth baseball players who pitched in the last 12 months completed the survey. Players underwent physical examination if they reported a history of time-loss injury (16 players) or if they had any current complaints of pain without a history of time-loss injury (22 players).

Results: This screening protocol resulted in positive physical examination findings in 37.6% of all 77 players. This included a rate of 56.3% of pitchers with a positive time-loss injury history and 90.9% of pitchers with a negative time-loss injury, but positive complaint of pain. The most common complaint in both groups was elbow tenderness with the most common location being the medial epicondyle.

Conclusion: While the survey was effective at identifying time-loss injuries, it may neglect more mild injuries, underestimating the percentage of players with pain and positive physical examination findings. The high frequency of positive examination findings in athletes without a history of time-loss injury demands further investigation.