Matt Moore, Ivan Nova, the next big thing in Major League baseball; Jose Fernandez. All the newest and most famous victims of the torn Ulnar Collateral Ligament otherwise known as the UCL. It’s an injury that has taken the MLB by storm recently and stirred a nation wide conversation on what exactly has caused this sudden up tick in patients. Well, I’m here to say this seemingly “sudden” up tick has been a long time coming. Its been building up for years and it has taken the loss of Baseball’s best arms to finally clear the way for a discussion about what is causing this wave of Tommy John surgery.
To put it simply, the human body is far from built to throw 100 mph consistently. It all boils down to physics as stated in the article “How the 105-mph Fastball Tests the Limits of the Human Body.” In fact according to Dr. Glenn Fleisig of the American Sports Medicine Institute “the amount of torque needed to throw in excess of the century mark is greater than the amount of force the ulnar collateral ligament can withstand before giving out.” In a world that trains kids at younger ages everyday to throw faster and harder every time they’re out on the mound, the words of the like of Dr. Fleisig are not welcome. I’ve had a front row seat to it.
Source: HowStuffWorks, 2009 another blog that provides some insightful points on Tommy John Surgery; http://blog.drstankovich.com/big-concerns-around-more-kids-getting-sport-surgeries-today/
I’ve grown up around baseball and the politics of the game. With a brother and dad heavily involved in youth baseball I have seen first hand the recommendations of individuals like Dr. James Andrews(which can be found here: www.asmi.org/research.php?page=research§ion=positionStatement) thrown out of the window for the sake of letting players play even more than the huge amount of time in the year they did. Players playing on more then two teams to get as much playing time as possible? Seen it. Coaches stretching out pitchers more then they know they should? Seen it. Kids going down with elbow and arm injuries because of some mishandling by there parents and coaches? Seen it way too much.
What I have seen before my eyes is certainly enough evidence for me to believe the culture of youth baseball today and the weight is puts upon the anatomy of its pitchers is heavily correlated to the instances of Tommy John surgery throughout all spectrums of baseball. Could it be something else? Of course. But the truth of the matter is that the facts we have today gathered by the American Sports Medicine Institute point to precautions starting at the youth baseball level as the best way to avoid Tommy John. New evidence that is totally contradictory could come out tomorrow but we only have today and with that what we can do now.
Sources:
http://blog.drstankovich.com/big-concerns-around-more-kids-getting-sport-surgeries-today/
www.asmi.org/research.php?page=research§ion=positionStatement
Thanks for your thoughts! I also have had some interest in whether or not Tommy John could aid in making a pitcher better. I find myself to be leaning towards just rest and rehab that can improve mechanics as being the source of such positive outcomes. But with anything more research is needed. Here’s to having an answer to this question soon!
Something I find interesting is the controversy over whether or not Tommy John makes pitchers better after their surgeries. In the article I just linked, there was a study showing that pitchers who got the surgery had fewer hits, runs and walks while pitching. After initially reading, the critical thinking non-scientist in me thought about how the increase in performance may just come with experience and maturity. There are conflicting studies over the changes in velocity of throws pre and post surgery. I guess we will see with time!