Tommy John Surgery

This all begun in 2014, i was recovering from my first ACL tear. I would talk to my doctor about how my recovery was going so far, and he would always reply “your coming along well” but what he never told me was he was expecting it to tere again at any moment.

Life can change in a split second when an unanticipated injury or disease hinders someone’s normal daily life. Modern medicine, physicians and families can only do so much but physical therapy can help recoup the life many of us take for granted. It often isn’t until we lose something that we as humans realize what we had such as the value of our body’s ability to take us through each day. A physical therapist is the person who stays with a patient for the duration of the rehabilitation process. A physical therapist leads the patient through the process of regaining physical strength and helps the patient regain control of their future. Much like many careers that involve interaction with individuals, physical therapy reaches beyond

OrthoOklahoma is an orthopedic medical clinic with a physical therapy branch that provides outpatient physical therapy care. The facility has a staff of three licensed physical therapists and a physical therapy assistant along with four physical therapy techs. I was able to observe all three physical therapists, Megan Ripley, Joe Ogle and Ken Roberts. At OrthoOklahoma, the most common patients are post-surgery from repairs of muscles, bones or joints. While shadowing these therapists, I observed cases of total knee replacement, total hip replacement, ACL/meniscus repair, rotator cuff repair, frozen shoulder, labrum repair, and other ailments from wear-and-tear and aging. This experience allowed me to talk to physical therapists about the ins and outs of their job, learn about different exercises and routines for treatment of injuries, and really get an idea of the work it takes to become a well-respected physical therapist.

Epidemics of surgeries can vary with people being very influential towards them or disagreeing on what needs to be done in order to help the person it is affecting. Over the past decade a certain surgery has become more and more relevant to young kids and adults that play a certain sport. Americas greatest pastime what we now call baseball has resulted in some of the most historic injuries. Such as that will never be forgotten such as Tommy John, Miguel Sano, and Kerry Wood and last but no least Stephen Strasburg. Now why cant people understand that your body needs rest? Your body needs to heal or you will join the list of people who have had Tommy John surgery. It is not something to be proud of, but it is certainly proven to help and have a high success rate.

You may need surgery if other treatments do not help, have recurring instability in the elbow, or if you have a complete tear of the UCL. After surgery you will have to wear a cast or splint and eventually have physical

A young, athletic talent lost a lot of his athleticism because multiple knee surgeries don't often result with the kid coming out better when the scalpel is done doing its thing.

The team doctor informed me, I would most likely have to get surgery on my UCL, more commonly known as Tommy John reconstructive surgery. The UCL is located on the inside of the elbow, below the bone. The injury happened when I was fielding a difficult ground ball up the middle, which is a very tough play to make as a second baseman. I had cleanly fielded the ground ball, and as I turned to throw in mid arm motion, I felt a pop in my right elbow. The pain in the elbow was such a sharp and stinging pain. I decided I was going to stay in the game because we were playing against the second strings at Union High School. As the game continued, another ground ball was hit in my direction and as I then proceed to throw the ball towards first base, and figured, I could not throw normal. Again just rest and rehab for 8

Baseball is America's pastime. Everyone in this country knows a person who plays the game and the struggles they face throughout their entire baseball endeavors. Baseball is an overhead throwing sport that requires countless amount of repetition in order to perfect the art of throwing a baseball with different spins and velocities. Because baseball has become a non-season based sport in this modern era, it has risen health risks to the elbows of athletes that play continuously. The Ulnar Collateral Ligament, commonly coined as the Tommy John Ligament, is the

Over the course of baseballs long existence it has been a very laid back sport with only minor injuries. But in the last decade or so the injuries have been popping up all over. Definitely the most common one being the tearing of the ucl tendon in the arm. This injury takes time to tear and it usually starts to hurt before the ligament actually snaps. “Most commonly, there is a gradual onset of elbow pain due to repetitive stresses on the ligament”(Hopkins Medicine). But there are cases where thee injury can be sudden and happen on one pitch. There have been more and more of these injuries but the biggest shock is the amount of young kids dealing with pain in their elbows. This is an effect of year round baseball, because the kids and teens are not getting their proper rest in between pitch outings. Also their coaches could be pushing them to pitch more innings and throw more pitches. But not only are young people getting these injuries older pros are also. There has been a substantial increase in

Tommy John surgery, or more well known as ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, is a surgery in which a ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with a ligament from elsewhere in the body. This replacement ligament is usually taken from the forearm, hamstring, or foot of the patient. This ligament is needed for everyday things such as twisting a doorknob. This injury is usually seen in professional baseball pitchers because of the daily repetitive throwing and because of violent motions from throwing a baseball. RA Dickey was born without a UCL and pitches in the majors. Doctors still do not know how he can do this because you should not be able to do anything this way.

While common in baseball players due to its success, the Tommy John surgery is also effective for restoring torn rotator cuffs in individuals who do not play sports.

Currently attending the University of Dubuque, this bright-eyed young man found himself falling in love with the health wellness and exercise science program. Dreams of being able to work with the NFL or NBA as a professional physical therapist. Keeping his head on right is allowing him to successfully get through his first semester strong and well-balanced. With his background in football itself, he knows the ins and outs of what makes a person who is an athlete tick. Being able to aid someone who is hurt,

For baseball players, it is essential to stay healthy. One of the reasons a player tends to focus on healing his body is that if a player sits out injured for too long, he may lose his starting position. Though this is always in the forefront of a player’s mind, the first thing he should think about is healing his body so that he can continue his career. The most common injury to baseball players is “tennis elbow”. Other injuries baseball players deal with are dislocated joints and broken bones. Though baseball may seem like a less injury-prone sport than soccer or football, it can have just as many injuries with life-changing implications as the hard-hitting sports.

When an ACL tears it can be one of the most painful injuries and experiences an athlete can have in their sports career and is one of the worst muscles to be torn. ACL injuries most often occur during sporting events that involve sudden stops, jumping, awkward landings, “out of control play”, and sharp cuts- such as basketball, soccer, football, tennis, downhill skiing, volleyball, lacrosse, and gymnastics. When an injury to the ACL occurs, most people hear or feel a popping sensation in the knee.”I landed with my left knee locked, only to hear something akin to the popping of a paper bag filled with air or the snapping of a large rubber band, a sound so weirdly powerful that I couldn’t believe it was coming from inside my body”, said Mike Swift in his article about ACL tears in the Hartford Courant newspaper, as he describes how it felt when he tore his ACL playing basketball. Along with the popping sensation the knee may also swell, and feel unstable and become too painful to bear weight on it. When an ACL tears it can bring an extreme amount of pain to the person. “Still, even after the swelling subsided, my knee didn’t feel right”, also said by Mike Swift in his article. When an ACL tears it can either be really painful right then and there or you won’t even feel pain at all. “I had felt the bones separate inside the joint in a way they never had before. But I wasn’t

While being recruited to play basketball, I was asked if I would rather dissect a body or a defense. Though I chose to pursue a career in medicine, basketball has shaped me into the person I am today. As a young child living in the inner city of Newark, basketball was a sanctuary for me because it allowed me to escape the harsh realities that surrounded me. I began to play organized basketball at the age of seven and departed from the game at the age of twenty-three. The countless hours spent perfecting moves fostered my undying determination and work ethic. Ironically, there was also a benefit that came from my injuries sustained while playing. My love of medicine became fueled by the desire to acquire knowledge on the human body as a means to take preventative measures against injuries.