As no matter what level of play there is always a chance that players will get hurt at some point. One injury that seems to plague some pitchers is a Tommy John injury. Basically, this is a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow ranging from partial to complete. When this occurs, players usually say they heard or felt a snap followed by immense pain. Usually they will tell you they can't go on pitching.
The pain occurs at the medial condyle of the distal end of the humerus and can be easily palpated there. Another way to tell is to have the athlete hold their hand palm up and then apply pressure to the outside of the elbow while holding their wrist (valgus stress.) If the elbow bends inward, this is a pretty sure sign of a UCL tear. At this point the athlete will have to see an orthopedic surgeon for a further exam and an MRI.
To fix this injury the surgeon goes into the elbow and drills a hole in the medial condyle of the humerus and the proximal end of the ulna. Then, after removing a tendon from elsewhere in the body (i.e. foot, forearm, wrist, hamstring), the surgeon creates a figure eight and loops the tendon through the holes previously drilled. The rehabilitation and return to play is approximately 12 months and full recovery happens 85 to 90 percent of the time.
It most commonly occurs in baseball pitchers but can occur in other sports too. Often pitchers come back throwing faster and more accurately than before the surgery. This is most likely due to the fact that such attention is paid to the strengthening and rehabilitation of the the arm of the athlete.
Just remember next time you go watch you favorite pitcher, they are putting it on the line every time to win the game!
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