Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injury: Scenario, Treatment, and Rehab

Snap, crackle, and pop. Those aren't the sound of rice crispies in milk; it’s the sound a pitcher hears after tearing his ulnar collateral ligament. This injury used to be career ending but is now almost standard. This has saved countless dreams for many baseball players of not just playing baseball but to have complete function of their right arm. Today, sports fans and athletes hear the term Tommy John surgery and don't flinch. There are currently 29 active ballplayers in the major leagues who have already have had Tommy John surgery. That includes the Chicago White Sox'

Ulnar collateral ligament injury is a type of elbow injury that develops from repeated overhand throwing movements (overuse). This motion places a lot of stress on the two strong bands of tissue (ligaments) that hold your elbow joint in place. The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) is a main ligament located on the inside of your elbow. Over time, repetitive overhand throwing can damage the UCL.

When I asked him about the situation, he said that he asked her if she had the flu recently because sometimes the brachial plexus can give off flu like symptoms such as a fever, fatigue, cough, and runny nose. He said this condition is called brachial neuritis. He said the majority of the time it affects one side of the shoulder and that’s why he asked the golfer is she had any of the symptoms or the flu during the break. He said that the muscles become weak and in some cases, paralyzed. For treatment, Dr. Wallace said he prescribes pain relievers so it won’t bother the patient as much. He said in severe cases, the patient will undergo surgery and then see a physical therapist to help regain strength in the shoulder. When I asked if he thought the golfer had had brachial neuritis he said most likely no since

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

UCL reconstruction surgery has been around for a long time and it continues to evolve. Tommy John Surgery was once a likely career-ending injury for pitchers throughout all levels of the game, but now it has become very common and it is a minor setback in one’s baseball endeavor. Fleisig, Laughlin, Aune, and medical doctors explain how biomechanics are not affected when throwing again after surgery ( Fleisig, Laughlin, Aune, et. al., 2015), while Dodson, Thomas, Dines, and

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

A torn elbow ligament was the most common cause of The Dead Arm Injury era, the 20th century. This was uncommon before this time. Long before then, because of the lack of research on the injury, this gave pitcher's a 1 in 100 chance of returning and being able to pitch. Until in 1974

Russell Carrington is a 25 year old right handed relief pitcher for the MLB team the Baltimore Orioles. Carrington has been playing baseball since he was seven years old and this was his third season in the Major Leagues. Carrington was at the mound and in the motion of throwing a fastball, when he felt a “pop” in his overhand motion. He dropped to his knees and clinched his right shoulder in pain. Athletic trainers came onto the field an upon examination Carrington stated his arm felt like it was “dead” and felt like it was “catching”. Carrington was seen by the team physician. She performed ROM exercises, strength, and stability tests on his shoulder and examined his neck and head to ensure pain wasn’t coming from a pinched nerve. She concluded that further testing and imaging was necessary. Carrington had an X-ray and MRI done on his shoulder and he was diagnosed with a type II SLAP (Superior Labrum Anterior and Posterior) lesion. He didn’t want surgery done because he would miss the remainder of the season and possibly the next, so doctors prescribed non-steroid anti-inflammatory medication and five months physical therapy to strengthen the shoulder capsule. After completion of physical therapy, the pain didn’t improve and arthroscopy surgery was recommended.

The UCL will not heal on its own so surgery is the only option to heal a torn UCL. The surgery is called Tommy John surgery, which is named after a former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher who had the first surgery

There are a few pitchers who have to undergo Tommy John surgery. Most of the time after Tommy John surgery the pitcher is out for a year or two. “There is a growing belief, though, that recovery time isn't sufficient after many Tommy John procedures, thanks to an erroneous idea that crept into the sport in recent years that pitchers need only 10-18 months to come back from a UCL replacement, whereas accepted standard time to return from a Tommy John procedure in medical circles is 16-20 months.” Many pitchers come back before they are assigned. That is why they have so many arm injuries in the long run. "There are more guys going through this and it's better to err on the side of giving more time. Even with a first Tommy John, people expect a 100-percent success rate, and while the odds are very good, it's not 100 percent.” They come in expecting to able to be the way they were before the surgery. Pitchers need to slow down after they

In Drew Marcos presentation, were first introduced to one athlete, in particular, Tommy John, an American professional baseball (left-handed) pitcher, who permanently damaged his ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm, leading to a revolutionary surgical operation. known as Tommy John surgery. It replaced the ligament in the elbow of his pitching arm with a tendon from his right forearm. The surgery was performed by Dr. Frank Jobe in 1974. After the surgery, the odds were against John, since there was a 1 in 100 success rate for that operation. But, he took a season off to recover and worked with a kinesiologist, who taught him a completely different way to pitching, eliminating the chance of him hurting his knee and arm. Before his surgery he won 124 games after his surgery 164 games won, John continued to play for 14 more years, retiring in 1989. Marcos, went on to discuss scapular strength and positional impairments such as scapular dyskinesia, insufficient posterior tilt, excessive abduction and prominent inferior medial border, which are all factors that play a part in the inverted “W” pitching position; that Marcos believes, is one of the driving forces behind the some pitcher’s injuries and the Tommy

Audience- Middle school baseball players who are about to go into high school. Also, the parents of the players so they will better understand how to protect their sons arm and elbow from damage. Some coaches may also be interested in this so they know how to handle their pitchers and how to keep them healthy. They will expect me to teach them how to keep their kids on the field. The readers will think that Tommy John only happens to major league players, however, in reality, it can happen to anyone, regardless of age. I am a firsthand example of this. The players will now reconsider how they throw and the kinds of pitches they throw.

Turn on SportsCenter or Fox Sports during baseball season and you'll hear three words that used to spark fear in the hearts of players, Tommy John surgery. “Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (UCLR) commonly known as Tommy John surgery, is performed on both recreational and high-level athletes,” (Erickson, Nwachukwu, Rosas, Schairer, McCormick, Bach Jr, & Romeo, 2015). This procedure is commonly done on pitchers, because of the excessive use of their throwing arm, affecting the elbow. The process consists of replacing a ligament in the elbow with a tendon from another area of the body or from cadavers. When someone has Tommy John surgery they are no longer able to participate in baseball for one year. However, with the advances in this medical procedure, it has extended the careers of numerous pitchers, and in some cases improved their pitching. Due to the possibility of enhanced results, a troubling trend has developed in youth baseball. Parents and coaches are encouraging their players to go under the knife in their early teens just so they will not have to worry about elbow issues in the future. High school players who are perfectly healthy are having this procedure done at an alarming rate.

Mr. Krupp had the repair to the torn bicep tendon on 6/30/17. He reported that he was given a cold compression device and that really helped with the pain. On 7/10/17 I met him at the MSU sport medicine clinic. We met with Dr. Supinanski. The sutures were removed to the left inner aspect of the arm. There are no signs of infection. Mr. Krupp said he has not taken any pain medications for days. Instructions are no lifting with the left hand of a pound or more. He will start physical therapy now. At the next appointment Dr. Scorfar will address the left shoulder. At this point, no repair to the left shoulder can be done, we need to let the bicep tendon heal

Hip injury and ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries among baseball players has become a high area in study (Cheatham, S. W., Kumagai Shimamura, K., & Kolber, M. J., 2016). Athletes in the field of baseball may be at high risk for injury due to the high volume of repetitive motion in throwing and pitching because of comprehensive training schedules and games in the season. It is commonly believed that the presence of limited hip mobility, throwing biomechanics are changed and may lead to both hip and shoulder alteration. With both hip and shoulder mobility affected can result compromising throwing form in biomechanics and may force the core muscles (abdominals, shoulders, and upper extremities) to compromising and work even harder. More importantly, the range of motion (ROM) maybe conceding excessively which results increasing potential risk of future injuries. The individual’s biomechanics in pitching or throwing must be monitor for muscular-endurance, strength, or power for speed and numbers of repetition when contributing towards velocity. Studying a player’s mechanics especially their genetics of length and size plays a major role on the changes in their body and correlates the throwing velocity in fine coordination. Every pitch thrown is one of the most important factors in a baseball or softball game because the velocity can change the outcome of the game.