The Baseball Observer - June 2015
16
Understanding Body Part Injury:
Elbow Injuries (Non Tommy John)
Everyone one has heard of one injury or another that afflict baseball players. But most don’t really know what they actually are or where the in the body they are actually located. After interviewing several Orthopedic Surgeons and discussions with other professioals, we are giving a simplistic overview on different types of “common” injuries – their symptoms, causes, potential treatments and prevention to better educate players, parents and coaches – in laymen’s terms. This is educational, not intended to diagnose or give medical advice. Always seek medical attention and advice from a qualified licensed physician.
Staff
Most baseball players have had elbow discomfort at one time in their career. This is about “Non-Tommy John” problems. The positive is that most of these issues are purely mechanical pain issues or overuse. Once mechanics or overuse is corrected future issues are usually avoided.
Elbow Anatomy 101
Quite frankly there is a lot going on in and around the elbow. Tendons, blood vessels, muscles and nerves all around a bending and twisting joint.
Three bones come together to form the elbow. The humerus (upper arm bone), the radius (lower arm bone on the thumb side), and the ulna (lower arm bone on the pinky finger side). These bones form a hinge joint and pivot joint. The hinge part of the joint lets the arm bend and straighten; the pivot part lets the lower arm twist and rotate. Where the ulna meets at the joint it’s called the Olecranon (what some call the elbow) - the bony point of the elbow that sticks out to the back when you bend your arm.