Dr. James Andrews scheduled to treat Boston outfielder
August 22, 2012
Topic: best orthopaedic surgeons
Carl Crawford, an outfielder for the Boston Red Sox, will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, as reported by the Boston Herald. Dr. James Andrews, one of the best orthopaedic surgeons in sports medicine, is scheduled for the operation.
This decision comes after Crawford played 31 games while experiencing an increasing amount of pain in his left elbow.
"Give Carl credit. He played through the injury and played pretty well," general manager Ben Cherington said, quoted by the news source. "But the symptoms [were not] getting better. The symptoms were getting worse. We just decided to ask him to keep going out there. We decided to take care of it now and he agreed with that."
Tommy John surgery, formally known as ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, repairs the affected tissue by replacing it with a tendon harvested from another area of the same patient's body, according to eOrthopod. After the operation, an individual will need to undergo a regimen of rehabilitation exercises. This may include drills to improve hand grip, wrist mobilization, range of motion, flexibility, coordination and strength.
Position players may return to baseball within seven to nine months, according to the news source.
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