What Causes Tommy John Surgery?

How Can Our Orthopedist Bergen County Help You?

One of the most common surgeries we see in college and pro baseball players is Tommy John Surgery. Tommy John surgery is a surgery that was famously named after the Los Angeles Dodger pitcher. This surgery is used to repair the ulnar collateral ligament. The UCL is an important ligament inside of the elbow that works to stabilize the joint. If you are an athlete thinking about Tommy John’s surgery, visit our orthopedist Bergen County at New York Sports Medicine Institute to learn more today.

What causes Tommy John Surgery?

Tommy John surgery is caused by the repeated motion of throwing. The UCL is located on the inside of the elbow that connects the humerus bone to the ulna bone in the forearm. Oftentimes the stress of repeated throwing motions can cause the fibers in the UCL to stretch over time. The more it stretches, the more likely small tears will begin to develop and eventually lead to ligament ruptures. Once the ligament stretches to a certain point, it will no longer be able to support players throwing activities. This makes baseball pitchers at higher risk.

Who is at risk?

While it is found that baseball players are more at risk for Tommy John Surgery, it is not limited to just this one sport. Sports that can also cause UCL injury are:

  • Javelin thrower
  • Tennis
  • Gymnastics
  • Soccer 
  • Softball
  • Football
  • Wrestling 
  • Cheerleading

If you play any of these sports and have suffered a UCL injury, come see our orthopedist Bergen County to learn more information on Tommy John Surgery.

Symptoms of a UCL injury

Symptoms you may experience if you are suffering from a UCL injury include:

  • Pain on the inside of the elbow
  • Looseness or instability of the elbow
  • Irritation of the funny bone
  • Your ability to throw will decrease
  • Bruising on the injured site
  • Weak hand grip
  • Tingling in the hand or the little finger and ring finger

If you are someone who is suffering from a UCL injury, it is important to see your doctor see what they recommend. Depending on your injury, a doctor may first recommend rest and rehabilitation exercises. The rehabilitation exercises are used to improve your strength and throwing techniques. Once you have gone through rehabilitation and have not had any progress, an orthopedist Bergen County may recommend surgery. 

Surgery can be done in 2 ways. If surgery is needed, your doctor may do it arthroscopically or through a more invasive surgery that requires an open incision. If the surgery is done arthroscopically, the surgeon will use an arthroscope that is a special tool that is a small fiber-optic television camera. Through a small incision, the camera is inserted into the elbow. With this camera, the surgeon can see the images on a computer screen. These images will allow the doctor to see the inside of your joints and ligaments. Through arthroscopic surgery, your doctor can see and remove any injured or dead tissue. 

If you are doing more invasive surgery, you will have an open incision where the ligament may need to be pulled away from the bone and be replaced. If the UCL is damaged, the surgeon will need to take a tendon from somewhere else in the body. When they replace the tendon, they will attach it to the bone through a hole that is drilled into the humerus and ulna. Our orthopedist Bergen County will normally get the replacement tendon from the hamstring, wrist, toe, forearm, hip, knee, or foot. In some cases, a surgeon will take a donated tendon from the body of someone who has passed away. 

What happens after Tommy John Surgery?

After surgery, rehabilitation will usually take about one year. Depending on the severity of the injury, some can take up to two years for a full recovery. If you are an athlete wanting to return to your previous level of ability, it is important to take your recovery in phases. Most rehabilitation programs will have 3 phases for recovery.

Phase 1 includes:

  • Wearing a splint for 7 to 10 days after surgery
  • Doing a gentle range of motion exercises for your hand and shoulder
  • Doing exercises to strengthen the arm and shoulder
  • Total body conditioning exercises 

Phase 2 includes:

After 6 weeks of surgery, patients can:

  • Perform elbow-strengthening exercises
  • Continue avoiding exercises that overstress the graft for the next 4 months

Phase 3 includes:

  • With the approval from the surgeon, after 4 or 5 months athletes can toss a ball without a wind-up motion
  • After six months, start to use a wind-up motion when throwing
  • After seven months, pitchers can return to the mound
  • After nine months, pitchers can throw in competition once they are pain-free and gained back their range of motion.

Contact Our Orthopedist Bergen County

More often than not, athletes are able to return to their sport back at the same level they were previously. Like most surgeries, recovery will require patience. To learn more about Tommy John Surgery to see if this is the right procedure for you, visit our orthopedist Bergen County today.

NYSMI