Does an athlete with a stress reaction need to stop playing sports completely to heal? In this Ask Dr. Geier video, I answer that question for a baseball player with an elbow injury.

James asks:
My 15-year-old son who plays baseball had an MRI recently. The doctor stated, “The radiologist commented on the stress-related edema in the olecranon without fracture.” Can you please tell me in easier language what this means? He also said it was a mild case and wasn’t surprised because he doesn’t pitch very often. Does this sound minor to you? Can he still be playing baseball but just not pitching (hitting, fielding, throwing from 2nd base position)?

The olecranon is the bony tip of the elbow. Baseball pitchers can develop a stress reaction or fracture of that part of the bone with too much pitching. Most of the time, the pitcher can get better with rest and not pitching.

In this video, I discuss whether playing another position or modifying your activities in other ways can let you play while not doing more harm to the injury.

Baseball pitchers should avoid pitching with a stress reaction

Also read:
Ask Dr. Geier: Partial UCL injuries of the elbow
Ask Dr. Geier – Ulnar nerve subluxation

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