Professional Baseball Player with Tommy John has Elbow Stem Cells
Professional Baseball Players and Elbow Tommy John Injuries
Dennis M. Lox M.D. has many professional athletes, including Professional Baseball Players. Dr. Lox has treated nearly every type of sports injury. Baseball Pitchers are prone to shoulder and elbow injuries, including ulnar collateral ligament injuries, also known as Tommy John elbow. Pitchers expert tremendous stress on their pitching arm. Thus they are prone to elbow and shoulder injuries. The ulnar collateral ligament, which is located on the inner aspect of the elbow, is subjected to high stress during throwing. Tommy John was a famous pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He developed an ulnar collateral ligament damage and had the first reconstruction of the ligament that became known as Tommy John surgery. It was pioneered at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles by Frank Jobe in 1974. Tommy John became famous as a great pitcher and one who did well pitching after the surgery. The surgery became known as Tommy John Surgery.
Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Therapy Options
Unfortunately, many pitchers do not recover well enough to pitch professionally again after Tommy John surgery. A retrospective assessment of pitchers who underwent shoulder and elbow surgery found on average only one third returned to pitch in the Major Leagues. Of those who did return to pitch professionally, they averaged only 100 innings pitched before retiring. A very concerning statistic. This is because a pitching arm is a delicate part of a high-performance machine. Pitchers often throw 90 miles per hour, and some have even surpassed 100 miles per hour. Obviously, creating great stress on their pitching arms. Many all-time greats such as the legendary LA Dodger Sandy Koufax retired early due to pitching arm injuries. This has led to many pitchers looking at alternatives to surgery, as once operated on if the outcome is bad, it is irreversible. Stem cell therapy is an attractive alternative approach to surgery. Stem cell therapy to Baseball Players’ elbows and shoulders preserves future surgical options. Surgery can always be done if Stem Cell Therapy does not produce the desired results. This is obviously, return to professional Baseball. Dr. Lox treated this professional Baseball pitcher with Tommy John elbow, successfully with his own stem cells. Stem cells are the body’s own repair cells, they are not termites and cannot make matters worse, unlike surgery, which does carry some risk. The Baseball Pitcher adhered to Dr. Lox’s post-treatment plan and was under the coordinated care of a professional Baseball athletic trainer, who Dr. Lox has worked with many times successfully before. Multiple Professional Baseball Players were resigned to Major League Baseball contracts following this approach. Having the experience of a well experienced professional Baseball athletic trainer in such situations is invaluable. It is extremely important to have patients follow guidelines to allow proper healing. Unlike surgery, Stem Cell Therapy has no painful recovery period. However, allowing adequate time to obtain optimal results is critical. Professional athletes tend to be motivated, as the financial rewards of re-signing with a new contract are very lucrative, not to mention it is their passion and career. The following season he was resigned to a major league contract and continues to pitch professionally without ever having elbow surgery.
