Jeremy Alland, MD

Jeremy Alland, MD Team Doctor: Chicago Bulls🏀 Chicago White Sox ⚾️
Sports Medicine Education: Keeping People Active! Host of Podcast
🚫med advice

I cold plunge regularly. My kids ask me why I do it. So I did what any sports medicine doc would do... I went looking fo...
04/16/2026

I cold plunge regularly. My kids ask me why I do it. So I did what any sports medicine doc would do... I went looking for the research.

Here's what I found: the adult evidence is actually solid. But for youth athletes? We're still in early days.

One study in elite youth soccer players showed real recovery benefits. But there's no pediatric safety data, no established protocols, and kids regulate temperature differently than adults.

So before you fill up a tub of ice for your 12-year-old, swipe through.
I broke it down: what the science says, what we don't know yet, and a few ground rules if you do decide to try it.

(And yes, those are my actual backyard plunges. 🥶)

Save this if you have a young athlete at home.
Share it with a sports parent who needs to see it.
📲 Follow for more evidence-based content on youth athlete health.
AthleteRecovery YouthAthletes SportsParenting RecoveryScience KidsSports

This isn’t just a story about a 25-year-old NBA star getting knocked down by shingles. It’s a reminder that the chickenp...
04/14/2026

This isn’t just a story about a 25-year-old NBA star getting knocked down by shingles. It’s a reminder that the chickenpox vaccine your kid gets today dramatically lowers their lifetime risk of shingles. Swipe to see who needs to do something right now.

adds to the long list of current and former professional athletes who say they don't want their children to go through ...
04/12/2026

adds to the long list of current and former professional athletes who say they don't want their children to go through what they did, even after they reached the pinnacle of success.

What will it take for us to hear these warnings and change the system for our kids?

Interview credit: Youth Inc.

The weight on the bar matters less than you think.A new study had young men train one limb with heavy loads (70-80% of m...
04/10/2026

The weight on the bar matters less than you think.

A new study had young men train one limb with heavy loads (70-80% of max) and the other with light loads (30-40% of max) for 10 weeks. Same muscle gain. Same strength gains. The difference? Neither limb mattered as much as whether they pushed close to failure.

Now, this is one small study, 20 males, and we shouldn't overstate it on its own. But it doesn't stand alone. A 2021 meta-analysis in the Journal of Sports Science (Refalo et al.) reviewed multiple randomized controlled trials and found the same thing: light load training produces comparable muscle growth to heavy load training, as long as effort is high.

The practical takeaway for young athletes: you don't need to max out to get stronger. You need to work hard and recover well. That means age-appropriate loads, consistent effort, and enough rest to let the adaptation actually happen.

Heavy lifting isn't wrong. It's just not the only path.

If this changes how you think about training load, save it and share it with a parent or coach who needs to hear it. And if you have questions about building a smarter training plan for your athlete, drop them in the comments.

It is nearly impossible to strike a balance right now. Travel sports seem to have swallowed up every option and it is on...
04/10/2026

It is nearly impossible to strike a balance right now. Travel sports seem to have swallowed up every option and it is only getting worse the more money that flows in. I am going to try to figure this out with you, but for now, I want you to give yourself some grace and recognize that you are doing the best you f&*%ing can and you should be proud. 👊

The warm-up is the most made-fun-of thing I do on the golf course. It's also the reason I don't end up in my own waiting...
04/09/2026

The warm-up is the most made-fun-of thing I do on the golf course. It's also the reason I don't end up in my own waiting room. Here's what I do before every round.

Happy Masters Week!

Terrible news here in Chicago! Cade Horton is heading into his second elbow surgery. His first? At 18. This isn’t just a...
04/08/2026

Terrible news here in Chicago! Cade Horton is heading into his second elbow surgery. His first? At 18. This isn’t just a pro baseball story, it’s a youth sports crisis.

- 1 in 3 MLB pitchers have had Tommy John surgery.
- UCL injuries in youth athletes are 10x higher than in 2000.
- Over 50% of surgeries are now on teenagers.

The causes? Year-round play, no off-season, chasing velocity, and overuse on young, growing elbows.

Tommy John surgery doesn’t make pitchers better, it’s a 12–18 month recovery with real risks.

We have the tools to prevent this and we are researching even more.

My recommendation is that you find resources around you with injury prevention specialists to get biomechanics testing and follow the PitchSmart Guidelines to the best of your ability.

💬 Tag a baseball family who needs to see this. Let’s protect our kids and their futures. 💙

References:
1. Kriz PK et al. Am J Sports Med. 2022. PMID: 35867456
2. Erickson BJ et al. Am J Sports Med. 2015. PMID: 25925603
3. Carr JB et al. Arthroscopy. 2020. PMID: 32359709
4. Keyt LK et al. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2020. PMID: 32430638
5. Hadley CJ et al. Am J Sports Med. 2021. PMID: 33908282
6. Jensen AR et al. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2020. PMID: 32430637
7. Labott JR et al. Arthroscopy. 2023. PMID: 36621598
8. Putukian M et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2026. PMID: 39820279
9. Brenner JS, Watson A. Pediatrics. 2024. PMID: 38230547
10. Matsui T et al. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2025. PMID: 40311705
11. Christoffer DJ et al. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2019. PMID: 30830566
12. Herring SA et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2024. PMID: 38373069
13. Camp CL et al. Am J Sports Med. 2021. PMID: 34283960
14. Podesta L et al. Am J Sports Med. 2013. PMID: 23633341
15. Chauhan A et al. Am J Sports Med. 2019. PMID: 31545891
16. Finnoff JT et al. Clin J Sport Med. 2021. PMID: 34731862
17. Post EG et al. Am J Sports Med. 2017. PMID: 28248557

New youth baseball biomechanics research caught my attention (and so did some expert pushback on it).A study of 46 high ...
04/06/2026

New youth baseball biomechanics research caught my attention (and so did some expert pushback on it).

A study of 46 high school pitchers found that highly specialized players generate significantly more shoulder distraction force. That matters for injury risk.

But a biomechanics colleague raised some real questions: the specialization labels rely on self-report (notoriously unreliable), the low-specialized group only had 10 players, and the highly specialized group may actually be better throwers (more efficient, harder throwers). It is genuinely complicated.

Here is what I keep coming back to though: the broader evidence against early single-sport specialization is not built on one study. It is built on many. And the recommendations - off-season rest, multi-sport participation, pitch count compliance, taking pain seriously - hold up regardless of this study's limitations.

Swipe through for the findings, the expert critique, and what we can still confidently act on. This is what honest sports medicine communication looks like.

Save this and share it with a baseball parent who needs it.

STUDY: Johnson AL, Caballero MR, Fehr S, Dziuk CC, Cross JA. Effects of Sport Specialization on Pitching Biomechanics in Adolescent Baseball Pitchers. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach. 2026;18(2):279-287. doi:10.1177/19417381251391459

Sage

Lauren Betts plays for a national championship today and her story is one every parent of a youth athlete should know!Sh...
04/05/2026

Lauren Betts plays for a national championship today and her story is one every parent of a youth athlete should know!

She was the #1 recruit in the country. She had two athlete parents, an elite program, and every advantage the system says you need.

And the pressure still nearly ended her career before it started.

She wrote about it herself on The Player's Tribune - the depression, the anxiety, checking herself into a psychiatric ward - so other young athletes would know they weren't alone.

She came back. And today she plays for a title! An amazing story.

But here's the question I'm asking as a sports medicine doctor and a dad: how many kids walk that same road and don't come back? How many childhoods are being shaped right now by rankings, travel teams, and year-round pressure...and we never hear their story because there's no championship game at the end?

You are your child's first line of defense.

Chase the dream. Protect the child. And help them find space outside the game. Something fun, something that has nothing to do with a scoreboard.

Their mental health matters as much as their game.

Swipe through Lauren's full story. Save this if it resonates. Share it with a parent who needs to hear it today.

WomensBasketball

The #1 ranked 10-year-old is usually not your future college star. Tonight's Final Four proves it.Keaton Wagler was the...
04/04/2026

The #1 ranked 10-year-old is usually not your future college star. Tonight's Final Four proves it.

Keaton Wagler was the 261st ranked recruit. Yaxel Lendeborg played 11 total varsity games in high school. Koa Peat was still playing football and baseball deep into his teens.

Three of the four Final Four teams are led by players the recruiting machine missed, dismissed, or never saw coming.

We have built a billion-dollar youth sports industry around ranking kids earlier and earlier. Travel teams. Showcases. Star ratings at age 10. It profits off your anxiety as a parent. And the data is clear that it doesn't work. Most kids don't make it, with too many getting injured or burning out.

The best 10-year-old rarely becomes the best 20-year-old.

Let your kid play multiple sports. Let them grow on their own timeline. Let them fall in love with the game.
And enjoy the ride!

Swipe to see the stories. Save this if you need a reminder. Share it with a parent who needs to hear it tonight.

Osgood-Schlatter doesn’t have to sideline your child.Here’s what you need to know to keep them playing safely:👉 What cau...
04/03/2026

Osgood-Schlatter doesn’t have to sideline your child.

Here’s what you need to know to keep them playing safely:
👉 What causes it and why it flares up
👉 The 2 simple rules to decide if they can keep playing
👉 When it’s time to rest or see a doctor

Let’s keep kids active, healthy, and doing what they love! 💙 Save this post for later and share it with another parent who needs this info. 🙌

Knee pain in kids isn’t always just ‘growing pains.’ 🦵💥If your child’s knee pain is being brushed off, it might be time ...
04/02/2026

Knee pain in kids isn’t always just ‘growing pains.’ 🦵💥

If your child’s knee pain is being brushed off, it might be time for a closer look. This guide breaks down:
👉 Why knee pain ≠ growing pains
👉 Common causes like Osgood-Schlatter, patellofemoral pain, and overuse
👉 When to rest, watch, or see a doctor

Let’s keep our kids active, healthy, and pain-free. 💙 Save this post for later and share it with another parent who needs this info! 🙌

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