Doctor Says Tommy John?!?!

RHP21, I would HIGHLY advise you to listen to the MD. If he is a Sports Medicine physician, why would you doubt his assessment?  I realize this summer is important to you, but you will show nothing trying to play injured. Maybe you caught the issue early enough that surgery will not be required. Possible stem cell or other options. But coming from the dad of a pitcher that had TJ, I can assure you these issues will not clear up on their own. It’s possible you could have a strain, but if not treated correctly and aggressively, meaning proper mechanics and REST, it will progress to a full tear and then surgery is your only option. I can assure you a physician is going to have better advice than anyone in a message board. TJ is not the end of the world. It is a HARD road with no guarantees, but many, many pitchers have survived the surgery and rehab. Listen to the professionals. Nothing wrong with a second opinion. Look for a surgeon that treats TJ injuries. Best of luck. 

^^^^Great Answer^^^^ 

Follow-up with doc after MRI and set-up a plan. Like YoungGun noted its a hard road, but not the end of the world kid. Wishing you the best of luck. 

Sorry to hear about the injury RHP. Sounds like you've been putting in a ton of work. I imagine it has to be frustrating. Keep your head up. With your work ethic, I'm sure you will be able to overcome this. 

My two cents....

1) Do a lot of listening, research, and ask a lot of questions.   Don't be afraid to ask tough questions as you are paying the Doctor for his expertise.

2) Get a second opinion before doing any medical procedures.  Do a lot of research and seek out recommendations from others who have gone through it.   I know a handful of players that have been through it and all of them used one of two Doctors that required a plane ride.   I'm guessing there is a reason for that.  Just my experience.....

Good luck and I hope you are feeling better soon!

RHP21

This story sounds a lot like my son who is also a 2021 RHP.  He went through an elbow injury last year and it has resurfaced again.  He had several MRIs last year which showed bone bruising in the olecranon, which is the bony protrusion on the back part of the elbow.

What I have learned is that this injury may occur among throwers who add significant size/strength quickly and who also are throwing lots of plyos in a structured throwing program.  My understanding is that for some throwing plyos without a rigorous - i.e. every rep - evaluation of form can lead to a "pushing" motion where the elbow creeps forward and the arm spirals out in front of the shoulder.  This in turn causes the arm to straighten out after pronation for a split second before it continues decelerating.  This straightening action causes the  upper and lower arm bones to "slam" together, creating microfractures and bruising.

There's a whole bunch more here but long story short - I agree with above comments.  Listen to your doc but if there is edema ( swelling) in the bones or evidence of microfractures you may want to get additional input/insight from folks who have experience addressing "slamming" injuries

Good Luck

Great advice above... will add...

When you do come back, whether soon or after a procedure and full rehab, do NOT throw off the mound when there is pain.  Also, three weeks might be a bit short to go from a full shut-down to a pen on a mound, IMO.

Sounds like you have some gifts and a work ethic.  Be smart with it and take care of those gifts.  Don't pitch thru pain and don't rush back.  Do make sure, if at all possible, you are seeing a reputable sports ortho.  It can make all the difference in the world for your baseball future.

I hope you find a good path back!  

You might get shared experience on a baseball board. But I wouldn’t come here for medical advice. Even If a poster is an orthopedic surgeon they haven’t examined you. 

I have a deal with the doctors. They don’t coach past LL. I don’t give medical advice beyond take Advil for five days. The only advice I’ll give is get a second opinion. 

You need to keep your appt for the MRI and stay completely shut down until you get the results.  You seem to be doubting the sports medicine doctor you saw, so maybe convince your parents to get a second opinion from an orthopedic Dr that specializes in "overhead athletes" which will essentially be a dr that fixes baseball players.  Maybe one that also does the newer version of Tommy John, they can do if the ligament is not completely ruptured.  I believe they use a synthetic tendon and lay it on top of the ligament. (I always get it wrong the difference between ligament and tendon, sorry) I believe it's a 6month vs 12-18month recovery. Or a practice where they have sports medicine and orthopedics combined.  This model is one of my favorite, they work together to decide what is best for you be it rest, PRP, surgery, etc.

Hope: My son developed an acute pain in his elbow a few years back.  We all panicked thinking he would need TJ surgery.  Luckily the MRI showed he had pinched his ulnar nerve (not damaged his UCL) the pain was from the inflamation and was shut down for a brief time (we used it as his 3months down). So there is always hope it's not TJ

Another thing, and I'm not a Dr or a pitching coach, it seemed to me you ramped up really fast from your shutdown period. My son who is a 2022 pitcher takes almost 6 weeks to ramp back up.  Were you following a return to throwing protocol?  We continue to follow the one our dr gave us after the medical shutdown 4 years ago.  If you need it after you have your elbow issue sorted out pm me and I'll dig it out and email it to you.

Best of luck with the MRI.  Also, work on your grades! This elbow diversion may change your timelines.  You're going to want the best grades possible (sorry, I'm a mom, I have to nag) 

fenwaysouth posted:

My two cents....

1) Do a lot of listening, research, and ask a lot of questions.   Don't be afraid to ask tough questions as you are paying the Doctor for his expertise.

2) Get a second opinion before doing any medical procedures.  Do a lot of research and seek out recommendations from others who have gone through it.   I know a handful of players that have been through it and all of them used one of two Doctors that required a plane ride.   I'm guessing there is a reason for that.  Just my experience.....

Good luck and I hope you are feeling better soon!

Yes! Never let a doctor cut on you without getting a second opinion (emergencies excluded). Especially when it's your long term baseball career on the line. Definitely do your research. I don't have a pitcher but I do know there is a newer "version" of TJ surgery that requires less recovery time (but not all UCL tears can be treated with it). I know two seniors who went down south last fall to the same doctor to have the new procedure done. Also, trust your "gut" feeling about this doctor. If you don't feel completely 100% comfortable with this guy, for whatever reason, find someone else. You are the customer!

Good luck, I hope you have a speedy and full recovery from your injury.

Here are a couple very reputable suggestions for 2nd opinion.  Ask them to read your MRI...Best of luck!

https://www.tmisportsmed.com/k...c-surgery-texas.html

http://orthodoc.aaos.org/johnconway/

From a Dad of a kid who had UCL primary repair with internal brace done by Jeff Dugas at Andrews Sports Medicine I'd offer 2 pieces of advice:

1. Get a closed MRI with dye injection (open MRI is a waste of $)

2. Get a 2nd opinion from a baseball specialist doctor (Andrews will look at it if you overnight a CD to them and let you know what they think).

My son had the surgery Fall of his Junior year and pitched and played the following Spring/Summer. Now playing as a freshman in college. Good luck.