What Is Your “Tommy John” Ligament?
You’ve probably heard of a few odd or unusual terms that refer to various medical conditions, body parts, or specific injuries. One of the most common of these terms, particularly heard in sports circles, is used to describe the Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) of the elbow, also known as the “Tommy John Ligament.”
The UCL, or Tommy John ligament, is the main ligament stabilizing the inner part of the elbow. It attaches the end of the arm bone to one of the forearm bones. The UCL is often torn or stretched by activities causing repetitive strain on the ligament – particularly throwing or tennis. Stretching of the ligament can cause subtle instability in the elbow leading to pain with repetitive throwing. Often the ligament needs to be reconstructed with a tendon graft to restore its strength and allow return to pain-free throwing or overhead sports, a procedure that has become common in baseball pitchers.
Where Did The Name Tommy John Come From?
Tommy John was major league baseball pitcher for the L.A. Dodgers and New York Yankees over a twenty-year career and was the first person to undergo the procedure that now carries his name. John began to experience some serious ligament discomfort and pitching problems around 1974. Dr. Frank Jobe, a noted orthopaedic surgeon who was team physician for the L.A. Dodgers at that time diagnosed John with tearing of the UCL as the cause of his pitching problems and devised a new surgical procedure to reconstruct the ligament – a radical and controversial treatment at the time. Back then, it was believed that a major league pitcher could never return to pitching in the big leagues after having surgery. Faced with few options and the prospect of having to retire from baseball, John placed his trust in Dr. Jobe and underwent the procedure. He then went on to return to the major leagues and had a successful Hall of Fame carreer. Based on his success, the procedure became known as the “Tommy John” procedure and is now commonly performed on baseball pitchers with painful elbows.
Misconceptions About the “Tommy John” Procedure
Based on John’s experience and the success of others who have had the procedure over the years there has become a misconception that undergoing the procedure can actually improve pitching performance over that of having a normal elbow. Many players and coaches came to believe that the procedure increased pitching velocity and accuracy and that players were actually “better” after undergoing the procedure. There is no medical or biomechanical evidence to support this. However, most sports medicine and athletic trainers believe that the post-operative rehab and strengthening that players undergo after the surgery is what often times can lead to their improved performance. This has lead to more research and focus on prevent exercises and training regimens to improve performance in throwing and to help prevent the need for a thrower to undergo a “Tommy John” procedure.
Awesome post. I am a normal visitor of your web site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a regular visitor for a long time.
Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and internet stuff and this is really annoying. A good blog with exciting content, that is what I need. Thanks for making this web-site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
I visit day-to-day some web sites and websites to read posts, however this weblog gives quality based content.|
Awesome weblog, I’m going to spend far more time researching this subject
Awesome post. I’m a regular visitor of your web site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I will be a regular visitor for a long time.
Hi there. I discovered your web site by means of Google at the same time as looking for a similar topic, your site came up. It appears good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Hiya, I am really glad I have found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and internet stuff and this is actually annoying. A good web site with interesting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this web-site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Hey there. I discovered your website via Google at the same time as looking for a similar subject, your web site got here up. It seems great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Hello gentleman do you’ve got new links ? I enjoy article evolve for my friend ‘ ..
Awesome write-up. I am a regular visitor of your website and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a frequent visitor for a long time.
Awesome write-up. I am a regular visitor of your website and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I’ll be a frequent visitor for a long time.
Hiya, I am really glad I have found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and net stuff and this is really irritating. A good blog with interesting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this web site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Hello there. I found your website by means of Google even as looking for a related matter, your web site got here up. It looks great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Awesome write-up. I’m a normal visitor of your web site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I’ll be a frequent visitor for a long time.
Hi there. I discovered your site by way of Google even as searching for a comparable matter, your web site got here up. It appears great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Awesome post. I’m a regular visitor of your website and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I’ll be a regular visitor for a really long time.
Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and net stuff and this is actually irritating. A good web site with interesting content, this is what I need. Thanks for making this website, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Hello there. I found your website by way of Google while looking for a related matter, your website came up. It seems good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Awesome write-up. I am a normal visitor of your web site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I’ll be a regular visitor for a long time.
Awesome post. I am a regular visitor of your website and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a regular visitor for a really long time.