Ulnar Collateral Ligament (elbow)

My son had a strained ULC and his doc who is a former Rangers coach told him to take it easy for a couple weeks but to keep throwinjg.
My son strained it about 4 years ago at a tournament. He was having an outstanding day but the weather was cold and wet and it was early spring. He felt something at the start of the 5th inning and shut imself down. What had happened was the team went on an extended hitting spree and he cooled down.
He has been fine ever since. Doctor wanted him to keep throwing but a light load.

My daughter (pitcher) was diagnosed with first tendonitis of the elbow and the the sprain of the ulner collateral ligament when she was 16. She went to therapy 3 times a week however didn't take time
off. The sprain got worse ..began having numbness in her fingers as the fluid built up in her
elbow while pitching. (You could always tell as before she threw a pitch she would shake her hand and arm--) To make a long story short, she was scoped and fluid drained, followed by therapy again. Eventually she ended up having TJ. She was put on celebrex, vioxx and mobic at different times to help with the pain.

I realize guys motion etc is different. IMO her
sprain was caused by overuse, relying on and throwing the same pitch(that was almost unhittable)while playing in the cold temperatures.

Good luck to your son. Be sure to have him complete the full course of therapy and rest that arm!....there will be plenty more games in his future.

My son had 2 MRI of his elbow which were both "inconclusive". The doctor shut him down, but no physical therapy. Thank goodness he came home from school.....about one month into the summer, he still complained of elbow pain. I made an appointment with an orthopedic doc and can you believe the doc didn't need to see the MRI? He knew just by feeling and manipulating his arm that he had a torn UCL. After the surgery the doc revealed that he was "impressed by the amount of scar tissue" built up.

My point, MRI don't reveal everything......every doctor is different....

Most doctors will operate as a last resort. Give the physical therapy a try---for the full course of prescribed treatment.

The surgeon had told me at one point that he is very sad about seeing so many surgery candidates who are under 18. One reason is specializing in one sport at an early age and another reason is because of year-round sports. The arms and legs need time to rest and recover. I am in total agreement with sitting out fall ball.

"Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." Things would have been so different.

quote:

Originally posted by mojo-7:

My son is almost 14 years old, pitches and plays 3rd. This is the first fall we have taken off since he was 4. The coach has said to us, it is about time for him to start taking the fall off and let his arm rest and maybe just e/h.

Helloooo McFly?!

Is everyone else blind to this above what he said about his young son? If your son has been playing THAT much ball every year since he was 4yrs old it's a cotton picking wonder his arm hasn't fallen off!

Not to worry though. I've seen kids time and time again that have played that much ball grow very weary of the game and eventually quit. Don't be surprised if something else doesn't soon get his attention. I know, I know...he loves the game, blah, blah, blah...these were exactly the kids I am talking about who ended up quitting. There was never a break for them to participate in the other "things" that friends were enjoying.

to the Coach!

Welcome to the HSBBW.
You can come here and post a question and get many different answers, bottom line listen to what your son's doctor and coach have told you.
Who cares when they began playing, most of our players began very young. What is important is how you monitor and limit that time he plays, because once they leave you , you have no control over that. Your son is at a time in his life where everything he does from this point forward counts. The reason I say that is because at 14 he has already suffered an injury, where he should be healthy.
I took my son to an ortho surgeon this year and before he considered the scope the doctor asked me if we limited his time when he was younger. We said yes and he said good. The reason for the scope, even with MRI's you often don't really know what's going on until you go in and take a look inside. Don't let your son get to that point where they might have to do that.

Let me ask you, if he strained a hamstring or sprained an ankle, would you continue to let him run? People have this crazy notion that just because it's a strain and one can't pitch you can do other things.

Shut him down.

Play B my son's doc also can tell things by feel and manipulation.
He feels the ulnar and can tell if it is normal or not. He has the player extend both arms towards him with fingers pointed up and back. He places his thumbs in the middle of the palm and rotats the elbows . He cah feel irregularities like bone chips etc and also how the elbows compare .
One thing we always did was have him test the shoulder capsul for loseness. It is very amazing to see a guy who knows what he is doing.
I agree listen to your doctor. He will error on the safe side.