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Business News
Independence, MO —
Pitcher Felipe Paulino is the latest Royal to head for Tommy John surgery. Royals’ pitchers Danny Duffy, Blake Wood and Joakim Soria are all recovering from Tommy John surgery. Prospect John Lamb had the surgery last year and Bruce Chen in 2007. Once a rare and uncertain procedure, ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction has advanced and is commonly performed to preserve the careers of baseball pitchers.
Tommy John surgery, what do you know? T or F?
1. Softball pitchers are prone to UCL injuries.
2. Tommy John pitched five seasons after his surgery.
3. Elite teen pitchers have undergone this procedure.
Tommy John won 124 games prior to tearing the UCL in his valuable left arm in 1974. Faced with the end of his career, he sought the advice of innovative orthopedic surgeon Frank Jobe who crafted a revolutionary procedure. The plan was to replace the torn ligament with a tendon from John’s forearm. After 18 months of rehabilitation Mr. John returned to win 164 games before retiring in 1989.
His was a surgery with a 1 percent chance of success. Now more than 80 percent return to pitching, albeit with varying degrees of success.
Genetics, poor biomechanics and overuse are major risk factors for tears of the UCL which stabilizes the inside or medial aspect of the elbow. Hold your arm straight forward, palm up, and feel the inside knob of the elbow. You are right over the UCL. Most UCL tears are partial or incomplete and do not require surgery. When the UCL is fully torn, support is compromised, rendering the elbow weak and dysfunctional. During overhead throwing there is tremendous stress at the UCL, especially with curve balls. For a pitcher, injury to the UCL can spell the end of a career. Once only for major leaguers, Tommy John surgery is now performed on elite collegiate and high school pitchers.
Paul Nassab, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with Drisko, Fee and Parkins Orthopedic Surgery, who completed a fellowship in upper extremity injuries and surgeries, performs about two Tommy John procedures annually. He has observed a trend of younger exceptionally high functioning pitchers with UCL injuries, including Liberty standout Blake Starr. Blake was an elite pitcher with thoughts of a collegiate career, and beyond. According to his father, Liberty cardiologist Steve Starr, Blake began having pain and swelling of his elbow in the summer of 2009, at age 15. Despite not pitching for several months and undergoing rehabilitation, the partial tear of his UCL did not heal, and Blake continued to have pain. Blake and his family made the “hard decision” to have Tommy John surgery, performed successfully by Dr. Nassab, in the spring of 2011. After one year of rehabilitation, Blake returned to the mound this spring for his senior season at Liberty North High School. After missing two baseball seasons, he completed his recovery in style, earning Second Team All Conference honors.
Blake loves baseball and always has since he started pitching at age 8. His father reports that by eighth grade, Blake’s fastball reached 86 mph. Exceptional. In retrospect, Dr. Starr thinks that Blake was, “probably too young to throw that hard.” It is hard to keep a good ball player down, just ask the Starr family. And the Royals, five times.
Answers: 1. F; 2. F 13 seasons; 3 .T
Pitcher Felipe Paulino is the latest Royal to head for Tommy John surgery. Royals’ pitchers Danny Duffy, Blake Wood and Joakim Soria are all recovering from Tommy John surgery. Prospect John Lamb had the surgery last year and Bruce Chen in 2007. Once a rare and uncertain procedure, ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction has advanced and is commonly performed to preserve the careers of baseball pitchers.
Tommy John surgery, what do you know? T or F?
1. Softball pitchers are prone to UCL injuries.
2. Tommy John pitched five seasons after his surgery.
3. Elite teen pitchers have undergone this procedure.
Tommy John won 124 games prior to tearing the UCL in his valuable left arm in 1974. Faced with the end of his career, he sought the advice of innovative orthopedic surgeon Frank Jobe who crafted a revolutionary procedure. The plan was to replace the torn ligament with a tendon from John’s forearm. After 18 months of rehabilitation Mr. John returned to win 164 games before retiring in 1989.
His was a surgery with a 1 percent chance of success. Now more than 80 percent return to pitching, albeit with varying degrees of success.
Genetics, poor biomechanics and overuse are major risk factors for tears of the UCL which stabilizes the inside or medial aspect of the elbow. Hold your arm straight forward, palm up, and feel the inside knob of the elbow. You are right over the UCL. Most UCL tears are partial or incomplete and do not require surgery. When the UCL is fully torn, support is compromised, rendering the elbow weak and dysfunctional. During overhead throwing there is tremendous stress at the UCL, especially with curve balls. For a pitcher, injury to the UCL can spell the end of a career. Once only for major leaguers, Tommy John surgery is now performed on elite collegiate and high school pitchers.
Paul Nassab, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with Drisko, Fee and Parkins Orthopedic Surgery, who completed a fellowship in upper extremity injuries and surgeries, performs about two Tommy John procedures annually. He has observed a trend of younger exceptionally high functioning pitchers with UCL injuries, including Liberty standout Blake Starr. Blake was an elite pitcher with thoughts of a collegiate career, and beyond. According to his father, Liberty cardiologist Steve Starr, Blake began having pain and swelling of his elbow in the summer of 2009, at age 15. Despite not pitching for several months and undergoing rehabilitation, the partial tear of his UCL did not heal, and Blake continued to have pain. Blake and his family made the “hard decision” to have Tommy John surgery, performed successfully by Dr. Nassab, in the spring of 2011. After one year of rehabilitation, Blake returned to the mound this spring for his senior season at Liberty North High School. After missing two baseball seasons, he completed his recovery in style, earning Second Team All Conference honors.
Blake loves baseball and always has since he started pitching at age 8. His father reports that by eighth grade, Blake’s fastball reached 86 mph. Exceptional. In retrospect, Dr. Starr thinks that Blake was, “probably too young to throw that hard.” It is hard to keep a good ball player down, just ask the Starr family. And the Royals, five times.
Answers: 1. F; 2. F 13 seasons; 3 .T
