Post Labrum Surgery

quote:

Originally posted by Seeler:
My nephew is currently two weeks ahead of schedule on his prescribed rehab and doing well.

That is a red flag. The labrum is an area with very little blood flow, therefore healing is very slow. Our doctor emphasized and was emphatic about not rushing rehab regardless of how Junior feels. There was a prescribed timeline that we were told not to deviate from except to hold up at any time there was pain and rest, therefore setting the timeline back.

Junior was very lucky and made it all the way back. He followed the prescribed rehab and throwing program precisely. He had one two week setback a few weeks into his throwing program, which we were told is normal, and then finished his rehab and resumed his turn in the rotation. He had surgery in July, returned to the rotation mid-March, spent the season pitching with reduced velo (down from low 90s to mid 80's) and didn't regain his velo until Sept, after a 6 week layoff after the college season when he was clocked at 93 mph.

The overwhelming sentiment among doctors, trainers, PT's and patients, is that there is no rushing rehab, you should never be "ahead of schedule". The best you should ever be, is "on schedule". It is the rare player that stays on schedule with no setback from soreness or pain.

I think the "ahead of schedule" was in reference to his range of movement exercises his PT is doing right now. He has been very diligent in following his doctor's advice. Both my nephew and his doctor have been keen on the idea of not rushing things.

CPLZ brings up many good points. I had this surgery as well. It is a very tough recovery and can take a lot of work and I do not think he will be ready to compete that quickly at that level. Between the breaking up of scar tissue, intense strengthening program, and just getting back to normal throwing is quite an obstacle. I also suffered decreased velocity for a while and also struggled a bit with just the mechanics of pitching and how I felt. Its nice to hear his range of movement has been great but I truly think that 4-5 months will not be enough time for him to properly get healthy. Have you asked your doc about him walking on and if he thinks it is possible?

Chip,

How about an update on Junior?

His labrum came back 100%...was sitting 92-93 at the beginning of last spring. 330 pitches in 11 days on starts 3, 4 and 5 for the year however, left him with a torn UCL, misdiagnosed for a month and still pitching in pain. He missed the second half of the season and Mets team Dr. gave him a 30% chance of being able to pitch at all this year.

After starting to throw again about a month ago, he is now throwing long toss pain free and will start flat ground work in 2 weeks. He originally hoped to be able to throw short relief this year, but given his most recent status, is setting his sights higher and looking to get back into the from spot of the rotation again. We'll see how well his arm hold up to the mound and curveballs.

Thanks for asking.

Thanks for the advise and encouragement. Nephew is well into his throwing program and has been progressing well without any setbackes so far (fingers crossed).

His old JUCO pitching coach got him a preferred walk-on with a good D1 program. He's excited about joining them in the Fall, just as much to resume his academics as to play ball again.

My nephew is now 8-months post labrum surgery and is progressing well. His rehab program has had him throwing close to full effort for the last few weeks. With each session his velocity is climbing - touching up 83-84 in his last outing.

Prior to his labrum injury he was topping out at 89-90. Velocity wise, at this stage in his rehab, is he where he should be?

I do realize there are probably going to be significant mechanical/control issues that he'll have to work through along the way as well.

Wow... I'm not sure about the answer but I am concerned because I am 4 weeks off a slap tear surgery and do not want to be looking at 8 months. Everything I was told was closer to 6 months.

From all indication Jeff’s recovery is going well. He has a positive attitude about how the therapy sessions are going and his therapist says this are going just fine. In reading other posts on this topic, I think both of us are staying away from looking at him being ahead/behind schedule and focusing on how feels that particular day. Jeff started taking walks at night to get some exercise and I think for both of us are dealing with the mental part of him not being able to play.
What triggered me to add to this post occurred last night. It was 10:30, I was getting ready for bed flipping through channels getting the watching the highlights of the nights MLB games. I saw that Field of Dreams was on at 11:00pm. I set the record on my DVR to have in saved. As 11:00 rolled around still watching TV, I flipped over to the movie and began watching. I sat there and watched the hold movie. I have seen it a hundred times and always tear up when Ray has catch with his dad. This time, I started to tear up almost from the beginning, Tears continued through the movie which lead to full on cry when Ray Liotta as Shoeless Joe explained how he felt when he had the game taken away from him. It touched the most sensitive nerve as father who shares a passion oh this game with his son. At that point I would have given anything to go get Jeff and go out and play a game on catch or hit him balls.
I know he has to the majority of the rehab on his own. He will be away at College when he can start throwing again. There is void in me because I won’t be the one playing catch with him or hitting balls at a time when as father I feel I need to be there like have since he was 4.

Sorry, I meant to post this on the thread I had started.

junior: I think most people on this site will tell you that different people will have different timelines for recovery, perhaps the nature of the damage/surgery weighs into the process.

My nephew started light tossing about 4-months after the surgery. His surgeon and PT have had him on a cautious, gradual schedule. Though he's had a couple of minor setbacks (maybe 3-4 weeks total behind), his progession has been slow and steady. He just started throwing at max effort for the last couple of weeks with no pain or discomfort.

Try to be patient and follow your surgeon's/PT's program to a tee and hopefully, your recovery will be a swift one.

Son, D1 catcher now 7 mos post throwing arm labrum repair. Throwing without pain 120ft every third day...as advised. Stretching and core work in between.
Expectation of 12-14 mos of real healing.
Returns to fall ball as a DH and 1B until ready to catch again which hopefully is Jan-Feb 2012.
Religious in rehab and following advice seems to have been good.
Lost scholarship at D1 from injury however and playing a JC year hoping to come back.
Long road...listen to Drs and REHAB.