I realize it is a relatively new alternative to Tommy John. I know two kids who have had it in the last year and both are now experiencing tightness in the upper arm/shoulder. I'm not sure if that is a coincidence, or a common follow up issue. Would love to hear experiences.
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My kid had it in November along with a couple of screws in his elbow. He is back to full throwing and is expected to be cleared for return to play by his ortho in about 2 weeks. His had a couple of issues. First is the numbness and tingling from his outer forearm to elbow when he lets it eat. I was informed that is common with elbow surgeries. He also experienced tightness in his traps when he started to increase his throwing volume. His PT did include working on the tightness and he also used a massage gun to treat it. the combo treatment seemed to work He had tight traps years ago that probably affected his throwing mechanics and eventually lead to his surgery.
My kid had it done at Andrews by Dr. Dugas in 2018. He's still throwing in college without any related pain. Highly recommend Dr. Dugas and Andrews - we flew from PA to Birmingham for the surgery.
Both my boys had it this past year. Freshman in college was at full strength in about 5-6 months, but he is focusing on outfield and no longer pitching. Has occasional tightness in forearm, but nothing that doesn't loosen up. Sat out this year to ensure he wasn't rushing it. Older son (4th year college pitcher) had it done in November. Elbow feels great, but shoulder feels weak. Problem for him is that he also screwed up his lower back weightlifting and its delayed his recovery time for several months. I have attached a pic of them at Christmas.
They are telling my son he will be good to go for next season. I just know several guys who still aren’t throwing because although the arm feels great, the shoulder is inflamed. Not a lot of options though, they told him he isn’t a good candidate for PRP.
Baseballhs, so sorry this is happening to your son. I hope he comes out of it safely and better than before.
Thank you. Yes, it stinks. He was finally getting back in his groove. Had his personal best Saturday. A 98mph strike on a 3 pitch K….now surgery. I have to hope there is something good on the other side of all this adversity.
Son had finally worked himself into a weekend starter last season as a Jr, but knew something wasn't right, pretty extreme pain every time that he threw. MRI showed partially torn UCL. He wasn't interested in doing full blown TJ and was prepared to hang it up. Internal brace was presented as an option to be back and play his last year out. Surgery last May was a success, started throwing in the fall and ramped up over Christmas break. He was limited this year, mostly on a one inning schedule, kind of a closer in front of the closer role. He did have a period after the season started that he thought that he re-injured it. MRI showed everything was good, just inflammation at the joint/UCL. They put him out for 2 weeks with heavy dose of steroids, and to be honest he was never completely pain free. But the surgery did allow him to play his Sr year of college out and contribute as he could. Now that his career is over, I expect that he'll be perfectly fine and will be able to throw BP if he decides to coach in the future or throw to his future kids. It was perfect for him and his individual situation.
IMHO, internal brace is a good option if you're just looking to milk a year or two more of a career out. If a kid has years left to play or potentially pro future ahead, TJ may be the better option.
My high school 2023 will be getting this surgery in about 2 weeks when playoffs wrap up. He will be DHing through remainder of season. Needless to say we had a full summer calendar of camps, travel ball and recruiting trips that will not be happening. If anyone has any tips on high academic recruiting while injured during this important summer, it would be appreciated. All options on the table at this point (PG year, attempt to get recruited as a 2023 and hit this fall at fall events, apply to schools and walk on). 1540 SAT, AP/honors, 3B/1B power hitter, had been talking to a number of schools before this happened. He's not a pitcher but had a history of GIRD which most likely led to mechanics slightly off that materialized in the elbow. Head Phillies team physician doing the surgery, friends with Dugas so sent my son's MRI to him, confirmed he is a good candidate vs Tommy John.
We are trying to decide if its worth waiting 3 weeks (4 weeks past injury) for Dugas. My son wants it done yesterday.
@MomFiguringitOut posted:My high school 2023 will be getting this surgery in about 2 weeks when playoffs wrap up. He will be DHing through remainder of season.
Does he throw and hit right-handed? I've seen lots of kids with elbow issues hit fine as long as the throw and hit the same side.
Does your son have a list of schools that he's interested in? Check for camps at those schools in the fall. IMO, that will be his best chance of getting real interest. Even if his throwing isn't 100%, he could be hitting and fielding by then, and that will go a long way with those coaches.
The latest Headfirst baseball camp listed on their website is 9/17-18 in FL. Ask the surgeon if that's a possibility. Best of luck to your son.
@MomFiguringitOut posted:If anyone has any tips on high academic recruiting while injured during this important summer, it would be appreciated.
Try this:
@baseballhs posted:They are telling my son he will be good to go for next season. I just know several guys who still aren’t throwing because although the arm feels great, the shoulder is inflamed. Not a lot of options though, they told him he isn’t a good candidate for PRP.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery, whatever you decide!
Bumping this to get input from those farther along. For those who had the internal brace instead of full TJ, when did your son start back with a throwing program? Our doctor is extremely conservative and is pushing for 4.5 months to even start. My son has met all the benchmarks early and is set to reach all benchmarks to throw at 3.5 months. This is just the initial throwing program and then it is 11 weeks to the mound. We set an appointment to plead our case and the doctor's PT is in support. We don't want to risk injury but the PT also told us that Andrew's protocol is much more accelerated than the protocol our doctor follows.
My son had internal brace from Dr. Conway on July 2, 2019 and began 30 ft throwing in second week of September.
@2020txcatch posted:My son had internal brace from Dr. Conway on July 2, 2019 and began 30 ft throwing in second week of September.
Thx! No issues?
Youngest was two way injured on July 8, internal brace surgery on August 20, 2021. Surgeon was Dr. Akizuki in SF who is top notch. Son felt 100% after 5.5 months and around mid spring was throwing from outfield without issues. He didn't return to mound as he wants to focus on outfield. So far absolutely no problems. Hard part was son wanting to jump ahead of pace recommended in order to play last season as a freshman in college. His arm was fine for the season, but due to weight muscle loss cooler heads prevailed and he decided to redshirt. So glad he did since he would have been less than 100% strength wise (note: not arm as that was 100%). Both my sons experienced some shoulder tightness in early stages of return to throwing and i think that is fairly normal. Everyone's situation is different of course, but waiting and being cautious while building the entire body back to full strength appeared to work for my son. Good luck!
@2020txcatch posted:My son had internal brace from Dr. Conway on July 2, 2019 and began 30 ft throwing in second week of September.
Never had any setback or slowdown in his recovery timeline. Though I should mention that the first 4 sessions of throwing (2X/Week for 2 weeks) were done in the parking lot with the PT.
