Researchers surveyed 189 players, 15 coaches and 31 parents with interviews or questionnaires on their perception of UCL reconstruction. Approximately 51 percent of high school athletes believed the surgery should be performed to improve performance, even in the absence of injury. The researchers also found that 31 percent of coaches, 28 percent of players and 25 percent of parents did not relate pitch type with injury risk.
Furthermore, 31 percent of coaches didn’t believe the number of pitches thrown was associated with increased elbow injury risk. Among all groups surveyed, a substantial percentage believed that control and velocity of pitches would be improved after the procedure, and they underestimated the return to play at nine months when the typical return time is one year.
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