AVOID Tommy John

If you are not a baseball fan you are wondering who or what is a Tommy John? In baseball pitching, repetitive stress occurs to the inside of the elbow injuring, the ulnar collateral ligament. This was considered a career ending injury until Tommy John surgery revolutionized baseball by reconstructing the ligament restoring stability to the elbow. Surgical repair of the ligament is named after the first baseball pitcher to receive this surgery in 1974.   

Unfortunately, today most of the Tommy John procedures occur between the ages of 15-19, increasing at an alarming rate of 9% every year. This injury continues to increase despite our efforts to reduce the injury with pitch counts etc…Often an athlete will have pain in their elbow and rest until their elbow feels better.  But once they resume pitching the pain will recur because the underlying cause of the stress was not addressed. The ligament injury results from abnormal muscle biomechanics, muscle weakness  and a lack of true core strength.  These issues result in too much stress on the elbow resulting in injury. Therefore, rest is not enough.

Regrettably, at a glance the surgical procedure alone appears to be responsible for the pitchers’ continued success after surgery. In reality, the faulty muscle mechanics and weakness that caused the injury are corrected resulting in an improved performance after surgery along with a new ligament. However, since many pitchers have had more than one surgical procedure, if underlying stresses are not addressed re-injury will occur. The goal is to NEVER have a Tommy John procedure! Dr. Cyd Charisse Williams has corrected muscle weakness and poor biomechanics allowing players to pursue their dreams of playing baseball at Missouri State, Princeton, Notre Dame,  Ball State and Mississippi State just to name a few… Prevent injury at Athletics Sports Medicine and Wellness!