Catchers and labrum repair

BBDAD23,
I wish your son and his doctor the very best of luck on the day of his surgery.
I especially hope the surgeon is on his A game,
One thing I learned along this process is how much variability there is and how little even MLB "team" ortho surgeons actually know about the recovery and treatment options which maximize the return to high level baseball in realistic and predictable ways. As late as 2008, a team ortho for the Phillies published an article talking about how much needs to be learned to get post labrum surgery players back on the field in meaningful numbers.
Information which you are able to share which is new and proven will be welcome by many players and parents on the site, for sure.

I too wish your son the best on his upcoming surgery.

Most people think that labrum repair is the kiss of death for pitchers, however, it really can be the end of baseball for any position player.

Once your player requires any procudure to repair or fix anything, makes you more aware of many things, that many take for granted, one of them, being that no player (any position) can remain healthy forever.

I really thought with all the knowledge on maintaining a healthful arm and body that is abundant today (for all players) there would be fewer injuries, instead it seems to be increasing. This is not a dig to anyone, but I think lots of times there are lessons to be learned, most of this pertains to overuse, sometimes things just can't be avoided.

Keep us informed.

These thoughts so appreciated.
Fully aware of the difficult road ahead for son.
He is simply ready to be "fixed" and have a shot at returning to a comfort level so he can truly compete again.
His comment, "rather work at the 80-90% chance of full return than function at 20% forever".
Surgeon here Andrews trained and has extensive experience and success, so hoping that success translates here.
Rehab to begin day 2 post op. Son likely to spend summer at school with trainers working on return.
One thing I do know about son, he is committed to working it hard and getting back to full capacity. That will be of utmost importance to anyone going thru this no doubt.
Surgery later this week and will update with progress reports.

BBDAD23,
Most of these players having the surgery want desperately to recover. Not being able to compete and them seeing a year go by where someone is replacing them and they feel they are falling behind is a tough mental challenge.
With that said, there is a balance between working it "hard" and working it right and smart.
Take it from one player's experience: he worked it hard doing everything the Andrews trained doctor and team trainer told him to do..and ended with more tears in his labrum caused by his following the rehab program.
Dr Andrews did the salvage surgery.
Of course a lot of this relates to the damage that needs to be repaired in the first place, including the number and location of the anchors.

Sound logic and comments infield.
Think that all, including son need to take that into account.
"working it right and smart" huge advice!!
Hoping to avoid any salvage procedures

It will be a tough recovery and most importantly, your son must understand that he will not be at 100% when he is able to play ball again. It is best in both your minds to not really pay attention to the timetable and for your son to listen to his body and how it is reacting. I also had labrum surgery and the recovery was not fun and it does take alot of hard work and time but from what you have wrote it seems you are both level headed about this. Just take your time. Although I have been out of professional baseball for 5 yrs now, I can highly recommend something that might help him down the road.

I just recently started playing ball in some local leagues with some friends and my arm did not have the flexibility anywhere near at what I had before surgery. Staying with my love of baseball I created the site below in my signature and eventually came to meet the inventors of The Rotater. The were kind enough to send me the product to use and I can't say enough. I even posted a review on my own site. This may be a great product for your son to use at home on his own. You can go on my site and click the ad on the homepage if you would like to purchase one. I am an affiliate of them because I truly think they have a great product.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me on this site or my own. Best of luck to your son and I am sure I will see you around the forum.


I

So, now the surgery is done....now what?
Successful repair of throwing arm SLAP tear with several anchors, arthroscopic approach.
Pain substantial for first 3 days, now down a lot. Returned to classes today and learning to be "left handed"!
Rehab to begin shortly.
Adjustment to unilateral functioning going to be a challenge but proud of son who is adapting quickly. When pain is diminished, expect it will be even better functioning.
6 weeks in splint, 2 weeks not bathing!
Of course....had to show up at practice last week at least once (1 day post-op) to make sure his teammates knew he was still with them! That didn't last long as exhaustion and pain still there.
Now the long healing and rehab road begins.
Stay tuned for that process.
STRETCH.....STRETCH.....STRETCH...is all I can remind you catchers.

Now what?

The key is to do the rehab religiously. No excuses, no days off. Do it but don't overdo it. Patience is just as important.

I wish I could tell you things will go wonderfully, but the fact is you just won't know until you finish the process. All you can do is stick to the program and give yourself the best shot you can give yourself.

He will hopefully be able to play next year, but he will likely still not be 100%. If he is fortunate enough to return to 100%, it could be 2013 before he gets to show that in a college game.

I know that's discouraging, but that leaves him 3-4 years of college ball, which is all any of us get anyway. It's always sad when someone has to bear this cross, but the best you can tell him is, he's got a lot of company.

So, now 3+ weeks post-op. 2.5 wks left in non-weight bearing sling.
Majority of pain gone. Rehab has begun and feeling well. Rehab tough and painful but mobility already improving. Lots of work on the lower body and flexibility replacing the strength work of the arm....for now. Core emphasis as well. Expectations high.
Hopeful to be in the bullpen with a surrogate thrower by 8 weeks post-op. Long road to go but progress good.
As noted elsewhere, rehab with no breaks the key.
Onward.

I might add here. I too am a physician and do understand most of the issues discussed. I try not to add too much medical jargon.
On this site....I am but a DAD!

So how is it going BBDAD23

Going well. Rehab tough but motion improved greatly and pain gone. Some soreness with rehab but quickly resolved.
He has a long road ahead. Hoping his program does not give up on him before completed.
He is dying to get on the field but is following to the letter what advice he is being given. 4 more weeks can start a throwing and swinging program.
Plans to rehab at school over the summer, and take classes.
So far, so good.

12 wks post-op update:
Doing well, no shoulder pain. Can now rotate arm completely in a circle without any pain. Still limited mobility but improving daily.
Now hitting off of a tee. Starting throwing program (structured carefully, of course) in 4 weeks.
Hopeful for next season however that transpires.

Hello,I was wondering if you any updates on your son's progress. My son just found out tody he has the same type of tear and he is also catcher. He just graduated high school and is heading of to a Nebrsaka NAIA school on the fall. I was hoping your update would give us some insight on what he will facing.
Thanks

Long time since an update, so here we go:
Son now at a JC in NC for a "rehab year". Doing well 8 months post throwing shoulder labrum repair. Still sore at times with scarring, but all original pain gone. CLOSELY following advice, slowly coming back and doing what the shoulder and doctor dictates.
Throwing 150 ft now with no pain. Catcher's throws will begin soon. Hitting seems to be back to old status with rotation returning, power coming back up again. Hoping to be ready to catch again fulltime for the spring season. Some time at DH and 1B likely for fall. Long road but nearing completion. PATIENCE is all we can say.
Loves being coached and worked to what his injury will allow to try to come back to what he had pre-injury.

Sounds like solid progress. No one can doubt his commitment.

Glad to here your son is doing well. My son also a catcher tore labrum of his left shoulder(non throwing arm) and is having surgery on Friday to repair it. He is quite upset to be missing high school season he is a sophomore and would be the starting catcher. He is also catcher on a showcase team (evoshield canes ranked 6th in nation last year)and is a division 1 prospect. So he is hoping for a full recovery. Just wants to play ball.

This is not the update I wanted to provide. I can say that my son is probably at the lowest point in this whole process. As I mentioned before her had his 1st setback in late December. He finished the 90’ ITP with no problem. The 1st time he attempted 120’ he couldn’t get through it. He was able to get into see his surgeon the day before he headed back to school. He advised that everything looked good structurally. They had him go back to therapy to work on strength. He worked back through the 90” phase with no issues. Last night he tried 120’ again and could not get through the 2nd set before he felt pain in the front and back of his shoulder.
Obviously this is has taken an emotional toll on him and me both. The hardest thing to deal with is the self doubt that is setting in. He is 7 months and 1 week post surgery. I spoke with his PT who is working with him at school this morning and he advised that he appears to have the strength but that his stamina may be the thing that is keeping him form progressing. He is going to meet with my son today and then speak with his surgeon.
As parent the thing I am struggling with is that he is 1500 miles away, He is working as hard as he can and I am concerned about the level of stress the kid must be going through maintaining a 3.5 GPA, attending practice, going to PT and doing everything he needs to do to get back.
Another issue is that he has been hitting the ball really well. So much so that he made the travel squad even though he can’t play defense. I imagine the extreme high he is getting from being successful and then the low of not progressing with his throwing program is very difficult to deal with.
This is such an emotional roller coaster that he as player and me as a parent was not prepared for.

Oops, I posted this on the wrong thread.

sorry

Hoping BBDad23 will let us know how his son is doing almost 2 years post-op. My son, a junior div 1 catcher, just tore his labrum. Wondering if your son experienced full recovery and if so how long it took.

BBDAD23 or anyone...Sophomore catcher had Orthoscopic Labrum tear Surgery 12/13. Rehabbing and progressing nicely 5 months post surgery. Can anyone provide return to throwing protocol we could follow. I have conflicting suggestions. We are taking it slowly as he will not return until spring next year to try and avoid any setbacks. He is throwing flicker (20 from 10 feet) on a knee (20 from 15 feet) then 20 toss from 30 feet 2 sets. Started that every other day for last three weeks. No pain by fairly erratic sometimes. Hit off a tee and progressed to live BP with no pain.

I would go to ASMI.ORG, read up on who they are and what they do, and then contact them about their throwing protocol for that type of rehab.

Google Dr. Andrews, as he has an excellent throwing protocol to use. You can buy the manual for I think $10 or so.  We had 3 different protocols , however they were somewhat similar in reps with the biggest difference in the weeks of progressing.

 

Good luck to all as labrum is tough. The scar tissue and tightness seems to be the common issues. For my son  he had to work on the elbow even or above shoulder when throwing. Many players revert to dropping the elbow and pushing the ball!!  Regular use of ibuprofens seems to have helped quite a bit. Try not to rush back , when you think you are ready , take a step back , and wait another month while you continue the boring throwing program like long toss!!!! If you can!!