(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Elbows, beware. More young baseball players are
walking in Tommy John’s footsteps by damaging one of their most important
ligaments.
In a recent study, researchers found 83 percent of athletes who had “Tommy
John” elbow reconstruction surgery were able to return to the same or better
level of play following the operation. However, the study authors found an
increase in young athletes receiving the surgery troubling.
“The reality is that this surgery is successful and that’s good,” study
co-author E. Lyle Cain, M.D., fellowship director for the American Sports
Medicine Institute, Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center, was
quoted as saying.” But a disturbing trend of younger kids needing the
surgery is troubling. This should be a wake-up call to parents and coaches
that specialization in baseball where kids don’t get adequate time off is
very dangerous.”
Researchers followed up on the condition and recovery of 743 patients who
had received Tommy John surgery. Of the patients, 94.5 percent were baseball
players. Results showed 83 percent of patients returned to the same level of
play or higher, and the average recovery time from surgery to full
competition was 11.6 months.
Tommy John surgery is a procedure in which a damaged ulnar collateral
ligament (UCL), an elbow ligament, is replaced with a tendon from elsewhere
in the body. The surgery is named for Hall of Fame pitcher Tommy John, the
first person to undergo the operation.
SOURCE: Presented at the 2008 American Orthopaedic Society for Sports
Medicine Annual Meeting, July 10-13
