acl/mcl tear

I'll be happy to discuss more via PM - but my 08son tore his ACL in a baseball game his senior year of HS and is playing college today - so bottom line - not career ending.

Ouch!
That's why I don't like football!
The problem is that BOTH legs are essential for any pitcher. The power that comes from the legs begins the chain of events that it takes to throw the ball. I am assuming he will be requiring surgery?
If so, the rehab that follows will be crucial. And as posted above is not career ending.

Good luck, keep us posted.

Find a good orthopedic surgeon who does ACL surgeries often. You may look and see if you can't find one who works with the Seahawks or the Mariners. Also, find a physical therapist who has experience with athletes and ACL injuries and make sure that they understand that he wants to get back to playing sports. This is crucial because the rehab for an athlete is going to be different than for a nonathlete.

Did he also tear his meniscus? They often get all three if they get two of them... Keep us updated..

My son had his ACL replaced Sept. 29th 2008, now is a closer for college team. 08Dad and I talked at that time about recovery because his son went through it right before my son. Has your son had an MRI? The surgeon thought my son had a PCL tear and mencus tear even after the MRI. When the surgeon operated the ACL was completely severed and he replaced it. Rehab takes about 6 months but full recovery is about 10 to 12 months. Mental recovery is harder than physical recovery.
Also, if the mencus is torn, make sure they repair it and not cut out the damaged area, repair takes longer to heal but in the long run makes the knee stronger.
Good Luck.

TPM - my son quit football to avoid further injury after suffering a fractured right shoulder (thank God he is lefthanded) in 7th grade.... then tore his left ACL, MCL and meniscus when he hit the first base bag wrong trying to beat out a slow roller! So it can happen in any sport. Fortunately, it happened in summer between freshman and sophomore HS years, he made full recovery and is now playing second year of college baseball. He no longer pitches, but did in HS and had no problems.

thanks to those who commented and gave encouraging news from your own experiences. MRI tomorrow. I have two high school teammates who work for the Seahawks. One is the running backs coach and the other is head of college player evaluations. they are getting me in contact with their team surgeon. We will get the best we can find and the best physical therapist we can find and go to work. I understand the concerns about football. Everything we do in life is a calculated risk, unless I'm willing to wrap my 15 year old in bubble wrap and lock him in a padded room until his next baseball game life will happen. His baseball coaches both in summer league and at the school have encouraged all of their players to play other sports football, basketball etc. They feel is makes their baseball players better. I will tell you that he is done being a running back if he decides to play football again, too much risk given that he has already been hurt.

My son played football and baseball. He was never hurt playing football but tore his ACL running to first base the summer before leaving for college. He is also a pitcher. If it is his left leg, that is his plant foot and in my sons case made for a little longer recovery because of the tension put on it. This year he had his meniscus trimmed because a piece was causing an issue. He is rehabbing it now and says his knee feels better than it did before the tear. It depends where the meniscus is tore if they can repair it. Pour blood supply in the middle. Good luck and tell him to work hard with his rehab. That is huge.

seattlestar,
good luck to your son tomorrow with the MRI, hopefully the doctor that set up the MRI told you that they are(MRI'S) only 85% correct as we were told by three surgeons and that 15% is a lot. Most of the time the doctors with prepare you for the worst and hope it's not as bad as thought. No one will know until the operation.
Again, good luck and best wishes for a full recovery.

First is the mri to see basic damage but keep in mind you will not know full damage until the surgery is actually taking place. Next is to talk to at least two surgeons and as some have already suggested I would contact surgeons that work exclusively on athletes, check with your pro teams in the area. The surgeon will also have the rehab people set up for you. Very important.
The rehab starts very quickly and is intense and tough, your son will find out quickly just how important baseball is to him and if it is he should come out stronger than ever.
Couple other thoughts, one of the keys is no infection so they don't have complications, ask Tom Bradey. They also have a machine that wraps around the knee area after the surgery that circulates ice cold water around the area which really helps with swelling and early recovery we found very useful.
last but not least, make sure you and your family are there for solid support thoughout the recovery to keep everything positive. The mental aspect can be started right away so he does not favor the injured leg and do damage else where. Sounds easy but like most things sometimes the mental is as tough if not tougher than the physical.
He can fully recover from this and of course best of luck to your son.

Sorry that is has been long winded but one last comment. I am sure your son is like most on here that is hard working dedicated athlete. When he starts rehab and what I have seen it is at least 2x per week with the rehab specialist and then he will have work assigned to him by the therapist. Do that work to the letter, make sure your son knows that if they say do 10 of something they mean 10, not 20 not 50. Sometimes in the mind of a competitive young man they start tinking those extras will get them better sooner and in reality it might set them back. A good rehab people will know he wants to amke it back to where he was and your son has to understand that this is rehab to get back even and then he can go back to out working other people.