elbow injury symptons

Take a deep breath and wait till you see the ortho. No throwing until then!!!!

It sounds like you've been given very solid advice by the doctors. You can't determine what is wrong from asking anyone here on the board, since none of us are qualified to give medical advice and there is more than one thing that might have happened to him, if anything significant did at all. He needs to see a qualified orthopedics doctor.

My son underwent Tommy John surgery last September. He's a catcher and something "popped" on one of this throws down to 2nd. He also felt a burning sensation in the elbow, which the surgeon told me isn't unusual with UCL tears. Son was able to do most anything in normal life, EXCEPT throw a baseball, after his injury. He began his throwing program about 10 weeks ago, is progressing nicely and should be ready to get back on the field this coming fall as a college freshman.

Bottom line is that I wouldn't spend the weekend stressing over it. Do as your doctor says, ice it and advil and make an appointment with a qualified orthopedist on Monday. Please let us know how he is and what the doctor says.

Good luck, in the end he should be fine either way.

Having experienced an elbow injury with our son...I know that it is hard to not worry at this point. I also know, from personal experience, that an internet search on medical conditions can be a scary thing! Too much info which can make the already worried mind worry even more. I CAN tell you that our son did not experience any "pop" in the elbow.....just a consistent and progressive soreness in his elbow. So there is no ONE symptom to a UCL injury. So you might get ten different "symptoms" from ten different people who have experienced injuries of the elbow. You can't make a diagnosis from other's experiences. He needs to be evaluated by a doctor and will probably need an MRI for a diagnosis if it is an UCL injury. Also...even if it is the UCL, it doesn't necessarily mean TJ surgery. So, keep the faith.....and please let us know how it goes!

while i am no doctor either .the pop is not a very good sign. that is usually what every one say's they here. make sure to have an mra.and don't take, he doesn't need one. it will show more than an mri.
there is not really any limitation of motion,or pain unless you try and uncork one. for everyday people there isn't any need for an operation. only if you throw over hand. strange, but i'm crossing my fingers for your son. i'm sure he'll be fine.

Thanks for the kind words. It's been kind of hard on my son. He missed his freshman year with a stress fracture in his lower spine. Went thru rehab and spent all winter working to strengthen his lower core and arm strength. Went to tryouts and he made varsity and became the number one starter. He had three wins without a loss with a 1.97 era, 18 inn. pitched and 23 k's. After last years disappointment he was riding high. Had his fast ball up to 87 and felt with hard work he could hit 90 by next year. Told him not to worry until we see the specialist that it may not be serious,but the look on his face tells it all. As parents it's hard to see our kids suffer but it's important that they know were always here for them. Thanks again for the kind words,now we'll just have to wait to see what the doctors say. Also my sons name is Andrew.

bandit
you tell andrew to keep his head up, every thing works it's way out in the end. really sounds as though he's already had some tough luck. is he a sophmore? the not knowing is the hardest part.but what ever it is you'll have to deal. it's harder on us than them sometimes. good luck.

20dad

He is a sophmore.

Follow up,

Andrew saw a sports medicine,orthopedic doctor who sent us for a mri. The results read ( Very mild T2 signal abnormality noted within the common flexor tendon and ulnar collateral ligament. This may represent a mild degree of strain injury or inflammatory change).

The doctor said there was no tear and for him to come back slowly. When I questioned him about the posibility of a partial tear he said it was impossible to tell.


We made a appointment with a doctor who specialized in throwing injuries, from U.of Maryland Medical Center. They said they deal with alot of pro athlete's. We just want to be sure of the problem.

Thanks again for the support, were still hoping for the best.

We're hoping with you!!!
Thank you for the update.
Its always nice to know what happened!
The best to your son.
Tell him to stay positive!!

Best of Luck to you and your son!!

good luck,sounds promiseing.

quote:

Originally posted by banditsbb:
We made a appointment with a doctor who specialized in throwing injuries, from U.of Maryland Medical Center. They said they deal with alot of pro athlete's. We just want to be sure of the problem.

Smart move! Good luck.

Follow-up

Unfortunately after a few month's of rehab Andrew is still experiencing problems with his throwing elbow. After talking with Tim Bishop former trainer for the Baltimore Orioles,he advised us to see Dr. Andrew Cosgerea the Orioles team doctor. Dr. Cosgerea informed us yesterday that Andrews UCL was torn and he needed Tommy John Surgery. This is definitly the last thing we wanted to here. We want our son to have every opportunity to fulfill his dream but also are quite concerned about the surgery. The doctor told Andrew that if he wants to continue to play,that this is his only option. After a long family discussion we decided to get the surgery. Almost all the info we have recieved about the surgery has been positive. The operation is set for 8/3/07. Any experiences with high school age players who have had this surgery good or bad would be greatly appreciated. At tomorrow's appointment the doctor will explain to us about the surgery and the rehab. From what I've read the rehab will be very intense. I'm hoping after tomorrow we'll be a little better prepaired.

Thanks for everyone's concern. This web is truely a baseball family.

Set up the rehab now. Expect some serious highs and lows. Don't hurry the rehab or the throwing. Pray alot. Stay positive. There are alot of people out there who have been through it get him in touch with a few then he will know what to expect. Don't be afraid to PM me anytime you want.

Best wishes for a successful surgery and rehab. Best of luck to Andrew.

Success rates for HS athletes are somewhat lower than for college and professional athletes, ~70% vs ~85%. The surgery is almost 100% successful, the difference is in the rehab. The main reason is that fewer HS athletes will stick with the rehab long enough and well enough to return to the sport. There's also the fact that some of them wouldn't have made it to the next level anyways and the time off didn't help. Obviously not the case with your son who has a legit fastball with real potential to move on to the next level.

The key here is to stick with the rehab program 100% and to make sure he is working with someone with experience in UCL rehab not just your local PT. It is going to take quite a commitment to schedule the rehab, academics, etc.

BTW, how did this latest doctor diagnose the tear? MRI with contrast?

Just curious. After TJ surgery, when does rehab start, how long does it take and how long is it before a kid can get back on the mound?

I'm sure it varies, but what is typical?

btw Andrews future sounds very bright 87 soph. wow

Good luck

CA DAD,


Dr. Cosgarea took a MRI with no contrast but he also took x-rays where they put Andrews elbow under presure. This x-ray showed a large gap where the ucl was supposed to support the elbow, but he also showed us on the MRI right where the tear was. We were back at his office today to get all the pre-op paperwork done. While we were there he introduced Andrew to Melvin Mora who was having his ankle looked at. That was the first time I ever saw my son speechless. So far I have really been impressed with this doctor. We are also making sure that the rehab specialist have plenty of experience with pitchers and this type of surgery. We have also contacted Tim Bishop who is a strength and conditioning coach to help Andrew along the way.


I would like to thank everyone for thier input,and kind thought's as my son begins this journey.
Good luck to everyone and enjoy the rest of the summer.

quote:

we decided to get the surgery

Good decision. I have seen lots of quality pitchers who have the zipper. Some are even better after TJ. It is not great to have his BB interupted for a while but he will get through it.

good luck with the surgery, if he works hard he'll be as good as new. tell him to keep his eyes on the prize.

Good luck to Andrew. Unfortunately the longer he plays the more guys he will meet with "zippers". They are part of the landscape. The good news is many still play very well after hard work rehabbing.

Triple Dad
Rehab starts immediately and about a year til they are competitive on the mound.

So he will probably lose most of his Jr. HS season, but get to compete in summer ball that year.

Thanks for answering Deldad!

light throwing at 6 months,he can hit at 4 months.simulated game off the mound at 9 months. he;ll be able to play next season, maybe pitch some.but it takes awhile to get the feel for your pitches. so you will struggle early on or most do i should say. but do what they tell you ,more isn't always better.

Follow-up

Andrew had his surgery done last Friday 8/03/07 and the doctor said everything went fine. He told us that there was enough tendon to loop it four times. He went back today to get his cast removed and they put him in a mechanical brace that limits his range of motion. Monday he will start his therapy. So far everything is going good. Will keep everyone posted on his progress and would also like to stay in contact with anyone else who is going through this same process.

Dad, as a bit of encouragement for you and your son, mine had TJ surgery last September 27th. It's been a long road back, but he'll be on the field trying to win time behind the plate at a local juco in a few weeks. He tells me his arm isn't that close to where it was before his injury, but he's throwing strongly out to about 200 feet. He's being realistic at this point, hoping to win time platooning in the fall, and worrying about the spring season when he gets to January. He feels like he's at 75-80% of his pre-injury arm strength right now, which is just about what his surgeon told us to expect for this point in time. We're expecting about another six months or so before he's back to his pre-injury level.

The key is to do exactly what his surgeon and PY tell him to do, and nothing more than that. Tommy John rehab has a ton of data to back up what is successful at this point, and doing more than is prescribed can be the worst thing he can do. I know a kid who decided to do more than his doc told him, and he's had some problems along the way. Even though he had his surgery a few months before my son, he's not as far along due to a couple setbacks from overuse.