Posts Tagged ‘arm surgery’
October 20, 2009 | 
Author As I was in there, it suddenly dawned on me: Pitchers are just unlike everyone else in the sense that what they do is so physically violent, that they have to do what is called “prehab” just to reduce the likelihood (or in reality, delay) injury.
Its pretty much a fact that if a pitcher doesn’t do regular rotator cuff, scapula, and forearm work (basically the whole pitching arm), he is doomed to inevitable, catastrophic arm injury. Doing prehab doesn’t guarantee health by any means, as tons of diligent pitchers still injure themselves regularly, but its our insurance policy, and at the very least gives us a better chance of not being injured. Read the rest of this entry »
Probably the most difficult facet of the recovery process has been me, in my head, wondering if I have plateaued, and whether or not I will continue to improve in the coming months.
I remember the first time I threw off the mound. It was timed so that I started in Florida, during our spring break trip, and I can recall my 3rd bullpen session, which I threw on the side at the University of Miami. That day I felt really fresh, and was confident in my arm after having two mound sessions already under my belt.
So I did my 45 throws or whatever at 60 feet, and I remember feeling like I was popping the ball. It was on a line, and it had a nice crisp sound, and I was just pleased as shit about it.
3 or 4 weeks later, I was still doing largely the same routine, but throwing with more intensity. I felt like it was time to get out the radar gun. I was throwing 75%, so I figured I should be around 70 with very little effort. So I start throwing, and they start shouting back my velocities…
64. 62. 61. 64. Really? So now I try to throw a little harder. 64. 64. 63. What? I just muscled up and its still only 64? This is ridiculous. Thing was, I didn’t feel like I was throwing 75%, I felt like I was throwing 100%. It was the hardest I had thrown in 6 months, and it looked and felt like I would never again throw a ball over 65 mph. Not happy. Read the rest of this entry »
Most good things in life can arise from something bad. So is the case with Tommy John surgery. TJ is unique among major arm surgeries in that it potentially provides a greater than 100% recovery. Getting to 100% or above, however, is a matter of capitalizing on the time off, and making the most of a bad situation.
So here I’ve compiled a list of the top 5 good things one can get out of a little elbow-slicing action… Read the rest of this entry »
So at week 12 it was time to start throwing. Because I was pain free and swelling free I was given the go-ahead.
That first throw was pretty scary, but I knew I was ready for it, and it went fine. It felt just like it used to. I started out at 30 feet, progressing to 40 feet x 60 throws by the month’s end. Month two moved me back to 50 feet, and month three to 60. Midway through month three, however, I switched to a different throwing program because I was progressing faster than my throwing program would allow.
I talked earlier about falling on my arm when I was running and how important that was in trusting my arm. The first day I let a ball go on a line was another such moment. After every single throw was on a soft arc, letting one go on a line was one of the first tests of my new ligaments. I can remember that first throw, and how liberated I felt when I did it without pain. I only uncorked a few of these per session, but they always provided me with a release from the tension of wondering if my elbow was really strong enough to get me back to where I once was. Read the rest of this entry »
For Today’s installment I want to discuss some of the non-protocol things I did to help my physical recovery. But before I do, I have some words about MRIs….
…Standard MRIs are garbage. When I felt my elbow go in the game, I was fairly sure that I was going to need surgery. When I got my MRI a week later, however, my doctor could get a very accurate picture of my ligament on the films. The regular MRI was just not clear enough in showing my ligament, and as such he recommended rehab and flexibility work, which had worked for me in the past. Teammates of mine had had MRIs with a dye injection, which makes diagnoses much easier. After 8 weeks of rest and rehab, I tried to pitch but couldn’t do it without pain. My elbow felt loose when releasing the pitch, as if my ulna really wasn’t attached to my humerus.
So I went back and got an MRI with a dye injection, and it was clear as day that my ligament was torn. My recommendation for others is to get a dye-injected MRI the FIRST time. Ask for it and see if the doctor will prescribe it. Read the rest of this entry »
So I tore my UCL in the conference tournament last May. I did not see it coming on that particular pitch, but I realized it probably was in my future. My head athletic trainer had told me that it could go at any moment, seeing how I had partially torn it in both high school and the previous season in college.
From March on I was having forearm and elbow problems, and could barely recover between starts. But I got through it and didn’t miss time, and made it through 5 2/3 innings of my last start of the year. I was actually starting to feel better by time it finally went.
So anyway, I figured I would put together some of the findings of this journey, of which I am almost through (8 months post-op and at 90% of previous velocity)
Today’s Topic: Doctor Discrepancies
Now, I got surgery from Dr. Craig Morgan in Wilmington Delaware. I had heard good things about him, seeing as how is world-renowned, and I trusted him above all others with my pitching future.
Five teammates of mine had this same surgery during my career, and there were differences in all five rehab protocols. And this is interesting, because everyone seems to make it to the finish line just the same. Thus, the question arises- which protocol is the best? If you’re not familiar with the tommy john procedure, check out the link in my About Me page.
That question is hard to answer but from my own experiences, I do have an opinion. I base this opinion on what I went through, what others went through, and what seems to intuitively make sense about the human body and its ability to heal. Read the rest of this entry »