During summer baseball, my now 16U son started to complain of shoulder pain. Didn't want to think it could be anything serious, so for a month I shrugged it off and he continued to play through the pain until he finally said it wasn't improving and he didn't think it was a typical shoulder issue. We x-rayed first which warranted an MRI. MRI confirmed probable labrum lesion. Our orthopod, who is locally respected and who has a son who played for my son's HS team, recommended a conservative approach of PT for 6 weeks. We were just reevaluated and my son reported no improvement in pain during the exam. The ortho Dr., still is recommending conservative approach and wants to do a 4 week progressive throwing program to see how he reacts to that. This makes very little sense in my mind. My son is not likely to be a DIV 1 prospect, however he is really just beginning to mature, fill out and get strong. He is 6'2" and is still growing (maybe 1 more inch in him), he's at 175# and starting to fill out. He's always one of the fastest players on his team, above average arm... I guess what I'm trying to say is I think he does have potential to play at the next level, DIV 2, 3 or NAIA. The thought that this injury may mean we never get to see him reach his baseball potential and that sucks, but it's our reality now and now we want to make the best decision not only for baseball, but for him to have as pain-free a life as possible and not have physical limitations. There are literally hundreds of SLAP injury articles and they seem to be equally divided in respect to surgery vs conservative treatments. I am looking for any real world guidance, encouragement, examples, advice. We are conceding his Sophomore year of HS baseball, and likely his summer season and looking forward to his Junior year for a FULL return if possible.
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