Essay On Tommy John Surgery

Ulnar collateral ligament surgery (Tommy John surgery) is unfortunately becoming a casual occurrence in professional baseball. The surgery has an important history. As pitchers began to throw with higher velocity, they also made themselves susceptible to tearing their ulnar collateral ligament. The process of correcting the damage that is done to the ulnar collateral ligament can last well over a year depending on the severity. However, most pitchers make a full recovery through the process of rehabilitation. Having to receive Tommy John surgery can lead to various effects on one’s career.

Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries were often problematic early on in Major League Baseball. UCL injuries would often end careers because modern medicine had not caught on to what was happening to the arms of these athletes. Dr. Frank Jobe

The general purpose of the surgery is to remove the torn ligament and replace it with a tendon that is used less, most often used is the palmaris(Lasky). The palmaris is a tendon that is found within your wrist(Lasky). The surgery is continually successful, around ninety-seven percent of pitchers return to their previous level of success before being injured (Hoffman et al. 1). It is good that the success rate is high, however that leaves three percent that may never get to play at that level again. Research shows that around seventy major league pitchers’ arms have not worked properly since having the surgery(Apstein). Having to receive Tommy John surgery has been proven to certain careers. Apstein stated in his article for Sports Illustrated, “pitchers will throw less than one-hundred innings the rest of their careers.” There has been no reason discovered on why some people respond better to Tommy John surgery. Most pitchers are not afraid of having to receive the procedure, but sadly some do not get to return to their former