ATLANTA — A metro Atlanta teen is excited to return to the baseball field after an early sports injury kept him out of the game.
Parker Troughton, 13, started his baseball career when he was five years old. He loved stepping foot on the diamond and making America's favorite pastime worth watching.
After playing in a baseball tournament in early March, Troughton started experiencing sharp pain in his elbow. Immediately, his parents pulled him from all sports activities that week.
"I just felt a pain in my lower elbow and then the next day I went pitching. I just felt it start hurting even worse and I just couldn't play," Troughton said.
His parents took him to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta where he was diagnosed with Little League elbow. It's an overuse injury often caused by repeated throwing without enough rest. If left untreated, it can impact a child's game for the rest of their life.
“One of the worst things your athlete can do is try to throw through the pain of what they think is a minor injury and end up causing serious damage—that will cost them a much longer time away from the field,” said Dr. Armand Scurfield, a pediatric sports medicine primary care physician at the hospital.
According to Scurfield, they're seeing several athletes with overuse injuries right now, especially Little League elbow.
Troughton was told that he could not throw for 6 weeks during the spring season. The baseball lover was disheartened; he hoped to play in his team's big competition coming up.
"I just hoped that I was going to be better by the time our big Branson (Missouri) trip so I could play, that's all I wanted to do," Troughton said.
His parents were ultimately worried about the 13-year-old's future.
"My concern was long-term," his father Phillip Troughton said. "Are we doing something? Are the mechanics off? Could it make him more susceptible to this happening again next year when he's a little bit stronger, a little bit taller, you know, throws a little bit harder, and wants to put a little more effort into his throws?" said Phillip Troughton.
Troughton continued with his training and agility workouts while performing the necessary rehabilitation exercises and stretches to speed up his recovery.
After five weeks, Troughton started the gradual process of getting back into throwing.
"He eventually got to the point to where, I think right at eight weeks, actually a week early, we were able to kind of turn him loose up to the field," said his father.
Troughton returned to the field with no pain after pitching in a game a few weeks ago.
"It felt really good to get back in, it just sucked sitting on the sidelines and watching everyone play. But when I got back in, I played shortstop and was able to go to the Branson trip, which was really good," he said.
East Cobb Teen Returns to Baseball after Little League elbow diagnosis
