UCL Repair

Thanks for sharing both your experiences and your reminder. Please keep us up to speed on how the boys come back. We will be pulling for them.

Yes, thank you - so sorry they are both going through this, but it's really useful to have this information about the new treatment.  I hope it all goes well.

A friend of ours had this I believe in Dallas.   What team was your son in? Mine was in Minnesota all summer too.

@Baseballhs. He played for the Willmar Stingers. It was a lot of fun. Had great host parents within walking distance to the park.  The bright yellow uniforms were awesome.  I loved the whole atmosphere there during my visit.  

Thanks for sharing this with us, Late. I wish nothing but the best for your sons. Please keep us updated!

It is painful to read these experiences and see it with my 17yo kid's former teammates and now my 14 yo son's friends! Imo the reduction of these injuries will not be because of improved training or technique but less kids playing this sport.

As long as they follow the rehab program, they will recover and be back as good as or better than before.

My son, a 2020, suffered a UCL tear the first summer event between his sophomore and junior years in high school, no prior elbow issues, mainly as position player (C, MIF).  Did spot pitch occassoinally as needed/requested.  So, it was quite a surprise to us.  He had some P5 D1s seriously talking to him prior to injury, but they dropped off after finding out of the injury.  One RC was honest and said it was not the injury as much as the fact that they complete their recruiting for specific positions (in this case C) that summer, between sophomore and junior year.

Surgery first week in June with one of the top TJ surgeons in the country (luckily he was located in same city as us.)  Same thing, doctor went in not knowing if he needed the brace or full TJ.  Turns out he needed full TJ.  He followed rehab religiously and was released first week in February which allowed him his full junior season.  Thank goodness as he only got 13 games into his senior year when Covid shut it down.  Had a great junior year and summer.  Arm came back stronger than before.  Ultimately, a few P5's came around as a late roster addition, walk-on offers, but he had numerous Mid-Majors with stong offers and promises to have a shot of playing his freshman season.  School he chose turned out to be a perfect fit, and as they said, he got his shot as freshman.  He made the best of it and ended up starting the last 35 games.

The whole ordeal ended up being a blessing.  Went to a program that really wanted him, gave him a great package and gave him a shot early.  Who knows what would have happened at the P5 schools that were on him as a sophomore, but the one school that explained that they just could not wait lost the C from that class to the transfer portal this past summer . . .

All this to say, parents and kids just have to focus on the rehab and the future.  The surgery and techniques they use are extremely good and reliable.  From what we have seen, the difference is the effort that is put into rehab.

Any one that wants info on rehab program or doctor that we highly recommend (have sent 2 kids from his college program to him already), let me know. 

Wish both your boys all the best! 

Thanks for sharing and best wishes for your boys going forward.  Get and stay healthy!

Health is one of those things college athletes and parents take for granted.  We can't help it.   So much is discussed on this board about transfers, Fall cuts, and other activities that make it difficult for college players to get their opportunity.  Nothing will stop the college dream quicker than getting hurt.  There are many posters (including myself) here that advocate for roster research during the recruiting process....look into a teams history to try to understand what you could expect if you were to join that team.   My son was a RHP, and he always looked at the history of a pitching staff for any school that was seriously interested in him.  Bottom line is he wanted to know how many of their pitchers were hurt or injured during a season....he was looking for yearly trends.   He also wanted to know the experience level of the pitching coach, and their training & development methods.  Just another data point to consider....health.....it is way underrated.  JMO.

Thanks for sharing your experience. My son had the repair with brace surgery done in Sept. 2017 and is still pitching in college. The surgery works, but like with any surgery, the success lies in the rehab and return work done afterward. Best of luck to you. PM if you have questions about our experience.

Like most of your kids, my '22 had never been injured, then October '20 he tears his ACL in a HS fall ball game.  Misses all of junior HS season during rehab.  Slowly comes back this past summer and even though he had been throwing since mid March, he comes home from 2nd summer tournament last June with a sore elbow.  Take him in for MRI and turns out he has a partial tear of UCL (Doc thinks it was due to "mentally his mind was trying to make sure his knee was ok, and it threw off his mechanics, putting more strain on his elbow").

TOTAL REST for 8 weeks (excluding rehab), meaning no hitting/fielding for an OF trying make up for lost time.  Started 12 week throwing program at the end of August.  He's up to 145 feet at 85% with no soreness (3X/week).  The repair and replacement options were presented to us as alternatives if he started having any issues during rehab or the first part of his throwing program.

He's played w/ 2 kids that had each.  Both will be ready for their Sr. year this spring.

So here we sit going into SR year "on radars", but they want to see him on the field and back to the level he was at during his freshman and sophomore year. So frustrating.  Good luck to everyone.   

@fenwaysouth posted:

Thanks for sharing and best wishes for your boys going forward.  Get and stay healthy!

Health is one of those things college athletes and parents take for granted.  We can't help it.   So much is discussed on this board about transfers, Fall cuts, and other activities that make it difficult for college players to get their opportunity.  Nothing will stop the college dream quicker than getting hurt.  There are many posters (including myself) here that advocate for roster research during the recruiting process....look into a teams history to try to understand what you could expect if you were to join that team.   My son was a RHP, and he always looked at the history of a pitching staff for any school that was seriously interested in him.  Bottom line is he wanted to know how many of their pitchers were hurt or injured during a season....he was looking for yearly trends.   He also wanted to know the experience level of the pitching coach, and their training & development methods.  Just another data point to consider....health.....it is way underrated.  JMO.

@fenwaysouth - My son is a RHP and we are doing our best due diligence into researching the schools interested in him, but I don't know how to find the information about pitching injuries and the PC's training & development methods - other than what they put in their bios.  Is there another way to find this data? That would definitely be a huge help! Thanks!

@latebloomer21 Speedy recovery and best of luck to your boys!!

@latebloomer21 posted:

@Baseballhs. He played for the Willmar Stingers. It was a lot of fun. Had great host parents within walking distance to the park.  The bright yellow uniforms were awesome.  I loved the whole atmosphere there during my visit.  

My son was on the St Cloud Rox  good small town atmosphere and nice field.

staying healthy is one of the hardest parts of this journey. Good luck to both of your boys and glad you had this option!

@BaseballMOM05 posted:

@fenwaysouth - My son is a RHP and we are doing our best due diligence into researching the schools interested in him, but I don't know how to find the information about pitching injuries and the PC's training & development methods - other than what they put in their bios.  Is there another way to find this data? That would definitely be a huge help! Thanks!

For training and development, some coaches/programs post a lot on Twitter and social media. Of course those are the highlights, and you'll have to do some digging, but probably an ok place to start.

@BaseballMOM05 posted:

@fenwaysouth - My son is a RHP and we are doing our best due diligence into researching the schools interested in him, but I don't know how to find the information about pitching injuries and the PC's training & development methods - other than what they put in their bios.  Is there another way to find this data? That would definitely be a huge help! Thanks!

BaseballMOM05 - The bios is exactly what he looked at.  It usually would mention if a player was injured and sometimes would mention their specific injury.   There was one program that had offered him where the pitching coach had been there a few years.   Since he took over the injury rate went up quite a bit.   At one time, they had d about 50% of his pitching staff hurt with shoulder and elbow issues.   This was a huge red flag for my son.   Again, one of many data points to consider or ask (subtly) about when talking to the coaches.

There was a board member no longer active who wouldn’t let the son choose a certain SEC program. The head coach had a horrible track record with blowing out arms.

One afternoon I went to watch Villanova play West Virginia. My son was fifteen at the time. I sat with the WV parents to catch the vibe on the program. A parent handed me a stat sheet. He asked if I noticed anything unusual. The abnormality stood out. Starters pitched an excessive number of innings. Pen pitchers had absurdly low numbers. I was told the coaching staff wasn’t big on pitch counts. A parent commented if my son is a pitcher don’t send him to WV.

For several years in a row Rice had a pitcher drafted in the first round. Everyone one of them had arm surgery within two years of being drafted. This was before TJ  was so common. Wayne Graham rode his starters like a mule to win.

I may be reaching out to you guys for some insight and referrals. Wish it didn't, but this thread hits home.

My son, (2020) 2nd semester freshman, tore his UCL training with a teammate three days before going back to school this August. Felt and heard the "pop". Originally doc said TJ surgery. MRI revealed UCL was still "hanging on", not complete tear but between Grade 2 and 3. Doc wanted to do 6wks rehab first, then reevaluate. Told him TJ still likely but let's see how rehab goes. Totally shut down while at school other than PT.

Well, first 6 wks went great and both he and his PT were encouraged with where he was at. Re-eval mid Oct went great too. Doc was encouraged by the PT summary report and his pain free examination and ROM. Recommended pushing off surgery and further rehab.

On to 6-week Phase 2 of rehab, which involved starting to throw again taking baby steps and gradually working up number of throws and distance. First couple weeks went well, some "normal" soreness early, but all of his reports thereafter were encouraging, until last night.

9pm just as I was about to leave for hockey, he called to say he had a set back today and his arm felt "weird". When I pressed him he said he had a bit of sharp pains on a couple of throws so he shut it down. Yesterday was the furthest distance he has thrown yet, so I'm hoping it was nothing detrimental. I could hear it in his voice that he was concerned. Tried to reassure him that it was probably due to the distance and the number of throws recently, but I have to say that news took a bit of wind out my sails.

Hoping for the best and that he feels well today and it was just a bump in the road. I know he had a busy day of classes and projects, so I didn't want to bug him yet, but It's killing me to find out.   

@FalseDawn So sorry to hear that about your son. I hope it's nothing and he continues on the road to recovery.

@FalseDawn posted:

I may be reaching out to you guys for some insight and referrals. Wish it didn't, but this thread hits home.

My son, (2020) 2nd semester freshman, tore his UCL training with a teammate three days before going back to school this August. Felt and heard the "pop". Originally doc said TJ surgery. MRI revealed UCL was still "hanging on", not complete tear but between Grade 2 and 3. Doc wanted to do 6wks rehab first, then reevaluate. Told him TJ still likely but let's see how rehab goes. Totally shut down while at school other than PT.

Well, first 6 wks went great and both he and his PT were encouraged with where he was at. Re-eval mid Oct went great too. Doc was encouraged by the PT summary report and his pain free examination and ROM. Recommended pushing off surgery and further rehab.

On to 6-week Phase 2 of rehab, which involved starting to throw again taking baby steps and gradually working up number of throws and distance. First couple weeks went well, some "normal" soreness early, but all of his reports thereafter were encouraging, until last night.

9pm just as I was about to leave for hockey, he called to say he had a set back today and his arm felt "weird". When I pressed him he said he had a bit of sharp pains on a couple of throws so he shut it down. Yesterday was the furthest distance he has thrown yet, so I'm hoping it was nothing detrimental. I could hear it in his voice that he was concerned. Tried to reassure him that it was probably due to the distance and the number of throws recently, but I have to say that news took a bit of wind out my sails.

Hoping for the best and that he feels well today and it was just a bump in the road. I know he had a busy day of classes and projects, so I didn't want to bug him yet, but It's killing me to find out.   

Get a closed MRI with contrast dye if you haven't already. Get the CD and send it to Andrews Sports Medicine for their evaluation and recommendation. You don't have to follow-up with them, but they are the best and you can trust their experience, skill and opinion. Good luck.

FalseDawn,

Sorry to hear that.  I would strongly encourage your son to seek specialized medical advice and to follow up with something like 2019&21 suggests.   Go through the Athletic Dept first to get it documented.   This should be on their dime.   If the same Dr that diagnosed it originally is the same specialist that your son would be sent to (referred) then so much the better.  If you have any questions that don't get answered or something seems "out of place" then see your own specialist.  You may want to consider a second opinion none the less.    Don't let your son dawdle on it.    Like many college baseball players, my son got injured.   He was first team all conference,  player of the week for 3 weeks, and threw a no-hitter his sophomore year.  The team won the conference and next thing we know we are headed to Chapel Hill for the NCAA regionals.   He had some discomfort while the team was preparing for the NCAA torunament and he ended up being a scratch starter against UNC.  Coach and trainer put him on a shelf.   It was incredibly deflating and disappointing for him.   He missed his entire junior year then had to earn his starting pitcher position back senior year.   It was a very long and brutal road mentally and physically.   My advice is don't mess around with this condition (whatever it is).  Get it diagnosed and treated.   Don't wait.

Good luck!

Update on UCL repairs for both my boys:

Youngest (2021):  Injured July 11, 2021 and had internal brace and repair August 20.  Missed all of fall, but attended every practice and helped out where he could.  Started taking full swings around Thanksgiving.  Wife and I watched him take outfield at a game and cringed when he would throw the ball in.  But he felt pretty much at 100% after 5.5 months and throws were just as good as before injury.  According to him, he's been absolutely crushing ball in bp and live ab's now.  Coach did pull him aside last week and acknowledged this, but told him they would prefer he redshirts to ensure complete healing, let covid sophomore's get more ab's to move on, etc... Coach told him that they think he will only play one year for them as he has good shot of leading team next year and moving on.  He's only redshirt that will travel with the team, get all the reps the starters do, play in all intersquads, etc...  Only thing different is that he won't get in a game.  Most important thing was that my son was very happy with that.  Mentally, i didn't know how it would affect him.  Plus, being bigger and stronger next year will let him hit the ground running.  So he's in a great spot physically and mentally.  We had many post op visits and zoom meetings with the surgeon and this was useful in applying the brakes to my son for safety reasons and not letting him get to far ahead of where he should be in recovery. 

Oldest (2018):  Injured July 18, 2021 and attempted rehab with partial tear.  Effort proved futile and even worse is that he herniated two discs in his lower back deadlifting a light weight without a belt and then doing drills.  (probably compensating)  He finally had surgery around a week before Thanksgiving.  (internal brace and repair also).  Rehabbed while he was home with facility where he worked part time during his 3rd year at a JC.  Rehab going great.  Back issues, not so great.  Had x-ray directed epidural cortisone shot in L5-S1 about 3-4 weeks ago to alleviate pain in lower back.  Didn't work.  So just flew to SF bay area from his school in SoCal on Thursday for second shot primarily in L4-L5 with additional attention on where nerves come out of spine.  Fingers crossed and hoping this works.  He put off elbow surgery since he was trying to play this year.  Now he's just focused on getting ready for summer.  Had fun with him at home this weekend as his team was playing on tv and he was telling us what each pitch the catcher called.  He's in a good place mentally right now and very focused on recovery.  Obviously if the back doesn't heal then he will be done.  Not looking for long term health risks with the back. 

General Comments:  We had the SF Giants team orthopedic surgeon do both of the boys elbows and couldn't be more pleased.  I am aware of many former players that have just gone with the local surgeon or even a "team" surgeon and have not had as much success.  (just a general observation as i am sure that there are some good local surgeons as well)  Rehab is a HUGE part of the process.  Its absolutely paramount that you find a good facility that is trained in baseball injuries in my opinion.  Sacramento had an incredible facility for that, and while it took us some time to find one for my oldest in the LA area, we thankfully have found one there as well.  Both facilities deal with professional baseball athletes, college and high school as well.  Not only was this good for my boys physically, but mentally as well.  My oldest is especially hard to please if he thinks that the physical therapist doesn't know anything.  lol

Sorry to drone on, but i feel compelled to let parents/players know in case they are subject to this type of arm injury.  My wife and I continue to be empty nesters and with no current kid playing baseball we are lost.  But heck, it did clear up our travel schedule!