Players, coaches and parents may be in the dark about Tommy John surgery

Tommy John surgery may be fairly common among some athletes, but misperceptions about the procedure may abound, a study finds.

The study, presented at a recent meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine in San Diego, surveyed 189 players (youth, high school and college), 15 coaches and 31 parents about their knowledge of the surgery and recovery time. The surgery involves reconstruction of the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow, which is typically replaced by another tendon from the body. Most often baseball pitchers have the surgery (although other athletes can have it as well), named for former L.A. Dodgers pitcher Tommy John, the first pro athlete who had the surgery successfully.

Researchers discovered that 51% of high school athletes thought the surgery should be done just to improve performance, even if there wasn’t an existing injury. Among coaches, 31% didn’t believe pitch number was a risk factor for the elbow injury. And although typically athletes can return to play after about a year, 40% of players, 50% of coaches and 31% of parents thought the return-to-play time was less than nine months.

In the abstract, the authors wrote, “Efforts should be made in our communities to better educate players, coaches, and parents regarding [the] surgery in youth baseball players.”