Researchers surveyed 189 players, 15 coaches and 31 parents through one-on-one interviews or questionnaires. Fifty-one percent of the high school athletes believed surgery should be performed in the absence of injury with the intention to improve the player’s performance.
Thirty-one percent of coaches, 28 percent of players and 25 percent of parents did not relate pitch type with any factor for elbow ligament injury. A significant percentage of the participants also believed that control and velocity of pitches would be improved by undergoing Tommy John Surgery.
On average, the participants believed the return-to-competition after the surgery was nine months.
Read the AOSSM release on public perception of Tommy John surgery.
Read other coverage on AOSSM:
– AOSSM President Dr. Robert Stanton: Young Athletes With ACL Injuries Often Opt for Surgery
– AOSSM Names Georgia’s Dr. Champ Baker ‘Mr. Sports Medicine’
