Jeff Stoddard and Mike Lembo, two pitchers for Sacred Heart University, suffered season-ending ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tears in their elbows in 2015, requiring Tommy John surgery. Stoddard felt pain in his elbow in early March and was diagnosed with a complete UCL tear after an MRI. Lembo also felt elbow pain in mid-March and was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear after requesting his own MRI. Both had surgery in late March/early April and spent the next year rehabbing through strengthening and a throwing program. They supported their teammates throughout rehabilitation and hope to return for the 2016 season.
Jeff Stoddard and Mike Lembo, two pitchers for Sacred Heart University, suffered season-ending ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tears in their elbows in 2015, requiring Tommy John surgery. Stoddard felt pain in his elbow in early March and was diagnosed with a complete UCL tear after an MRI. Lembo also felt elbow pain in mid-March and was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear after requesting his own MRI. Both had surgery in late March/early April and spent the next year rehabbing through strengthening and a throwing program. They supported their teammates throughout rehabilitation and hope to return for the 2016 season.
Jeff Stoddard and Mike Lembo, two pitchers for Sacred Heart University, suffered season-ending ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tears in their elbows in 2015, requiring Tommy John surgery. Stoddard felt pain in his elbow in early March and was diagnosed with a complete UCL tear after an MRI. Lembo also felt elbow pain in mid-March and was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear after requesting his own MRI. Both had surgery in late March/early April and spent the next year rehabbing through strengthening and a throwing program. They supported their teammates throughout rehabilitation and hope to return for the 2016 season.
Jeff Stoddard and Mike Lembo, two pitchers for Sacred Heart University, suffered season-ending ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tears in their elbows in 2015, requiring Tommy John surgery. Stoddard felt pain in his elbow in early March and was diagnosed with a complete UCL tear after an MRI. Lembo also felt elbow pain in mid-March and was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear after requesting his own MRI. Both had surgery in late March/early April and spent the next year rehabbing through strengthening and a throwing program. They supported their teammates throughout rehabilitation and hope to return for the 2016 season.
Jeff Stoddard & Mike Lembo In todays baseball age, it has become very common for players to get Tommy John surgeries. Many have heard of it very often but many do not know about it entirely. When we throw overhand, it puts what's called valgus stress on the arm, which is a fancy way of saying the elbow is trying to bend in an unnatural direction. When someone throws a baseball at around 90 mph, so much valgus stress is created that the forearm essentially wants to detach from the body. Luckily, a 2-inch ligament in the elbow holds two bones together and keeps the forearm in place making it a pretty important screw. Jeff Stoddard Mike Lembo This ligament is called the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). A ligament is not muscle; it can't be strengthened Tommy John surgery because Dr. Frank Jobe first through exercise as well as muscle can be. It is performed it in 1974 on Tommy John, a pitcher also not bone, which will adapt to the stress for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Since then, Tommy placed upon it. Ligament is just fibrous tissue, and John surgeries have become widespread as an elite pitcher's ligaments are pretty much the pitchers fall to elbow pain at a record pace. In the same as your average person: There is little he can past year alone, Major Leaguers such as Yu do to make his better. Darvish, Zack Wheeler and Joe Nathan all Tommy John surgery is a medical received Tommy John surgery. They are only procedure that reconstructs a damaged UCL three of the long list of 25 big leaguers to go ligament. A tendon from elsewhere in the body is under the knife in 2015. Historically, 15-20 Major used to repair a torn or ruptured UCL. It is called League pitchers have undergone Tommy John surgery per year but over the past three years that number has increased to 25-30. A 2012-2013 survey of active players found that 25% of Major League pitchers and 15% of Minor League pitchers had undergone Tommy John surgery at some point in their careers. Unfortunately, for our Sacred Heart Pioneers, last year two pitchers fell victim to UCL damage. Senior captain and ace starting pitcher, Jeff Stoddard, and junior relief pitcher, Mike Lembo had their seasons shorten due to Tommy John Surgery. Both, Stoddard and Lembo, would have been crucial to the Pioneers success. Stoddard would have been the game 1 starter of any given series and Lembo would have been a go-to guy out of the bullpen.
Coping With Tommy John
My entire life up until this past spring I
to rehab, but with time constraints Stoddard, of never experienced elbow pain. So when I course, doesn't have that luxury with a college originally injured it, I didn't know what to think, season. said Jeff Stoddard. He began feeling discomfort in Originally, for him, rehab was just his arm early on in the season but just thought of forearm and wrist exercises. It is a slow it to be early season blues. He expected to be progression, for example, the first day I was back to normal in no time. After starting at allowed to do bicep curls, but I was limited to 1Washington State, I remember I couldn't even pounders. Lets just say there was no gun extend my arm or hold a phone to my ear but that show. But the majority of rehab is focused on pain faded and I became confident I would be stretching since loose muscles and tendons are fine, Stated Stoddard. However, that was not the less likely to be damaged, Said Stoddard. He case as he began to experience pain in his next even described that probably 90% of his time is two starts only being able to get by with an devoted to strengthening his shoulder, as many ample amount of Aleeve, Tiger Balm, and people rehabbing from Tommy John suffer from consistently wrapping his arm around a heating shoulder issues. The process will, of course, pad. continue moving forward, It was in his third as he, in October, has made start of the season, against advances to med balls and I remember making one the University of upper body work in the distinct pitch that went Connecticut on March 11th weight room - with 2015, where it went all behind the batter and I had a supervision. downhill for him. Stoddard It was not until July 27th, radiating pain through my recalls, I remember a little over four months making one distinct pitch after surgery, when he was outside fingers and I could that went behind the batter able to start throwing a feel the fluid rushing into and I had a radiating pain baseball. Since then, he has through my outside fingers been on a strict regular that region. and I could feel the fluid throwing program that - Jeff Stoddard rushing into that region. consists of throwing on and After being removed from off of a mound at increased the game, Sacred Heart distances. athletic trainers suspected that he had torn his As for Lembo, his story is a little UCL, but the question was; how bad was it? He different yet very similar. He first felt discomfort then went and got an MRI and after about a week on March 14th against Fordham University - only when the MRI process was done, he then sat with a couple days after Stoddard experienced his pain. an Orthopedic Surgeon. This was when he learned This did not seem to be very promising for the he had a 3rd degree sprain (full tear) of his UCL. pioneers as it seemed that they would lose yet Not only did he fully tear his UCL but he also had another pitcher who would be relied on a tear of the pronator flexor muscle grouping in throughout the year. Lembo recalls, I threw a his forearm! slider incorrectly and I felt a sharp pain in my The only prognosis was to get Tommy forearm. I knew the pain was not normal and I John surgery and he did a couple days later on immediately wanted to come out of the game. I March 23rd ultimately ending his 2015 had a similar injury in high school and knew that season. Stoddard recalls, I had no mobility the continuing to pitch through it would not be very week after surgery as I was restrained to a good for my arm health. This proved to be very cast. After the initial week, I got moved into a much the case for Lembo as he was very correct hinged brace, which enabled me to gain 10 in his judgments. degrees of reach a week. The worst part of the At first, Sacred Heart trainers did not first 6 weeks after surgery was showering; it was believe his UCL was torn and they believed he such a process. hurt something else. They actually even spent a The doctors told Stoddard that he would couple weeks rehabbing for a different forearm have to go through at 12-month rehab, meaning injury. It was then when Lembo requested for an he would not be 100% until mid-march 2016. MRI, instead of the trainers, as he wanted to know Most major leaguers get the comfort of 16 months immediately if there was a serious problem,
Coping With Tommy John
which there was. When the MRI results came
back, the doctors broke the news to him that he had a partially torn medial ulnar collateral ligament which, like Stoddard, ended his 2015 season as well. He went on and got Tommy John surgery on April 15th but had he found out sooner, he definitely would have gotten surgery immediately. Again, much like Stoddard, he was put in a cast after surgery and could not move his arm for a week and then eventually moved into a mobile cast, restrained to limited range. Luckily for Lembo, according to his physical therapist, he is on track to be back in mid-February. My rehab has been progressing well enough to be ahead of schedule. I hope to be back before the season starts, stated Lembo. Once again, like Stoddard, his rehab consisted of shoulder, forearm, and other muscle group strengthening for the first 4 months and at the 4month mark his throwing program began. For his throwing program, he throws three times a week at increasing distances and intensities. It is also very important for him to continue rehabbing after every throwing session. In October, he began to throw on flat ground and off of a mound as well, slowly getting back into the shape he was before. In the past year, both Stoddard and Lembo, have experienced many adversities due to their injuries but that did not stop their personal work ethics nor did it get in the way from them being team-players. Honestly the whole process sucks and it was hard to keep a positive mindset especially suffering an incapacitating injury in my senior year. But I try to keep a positive attitude every day and be thankful that I was given a second chance to play my senior year, said Stoddard. That was not only very true for Stoddard but Lembo also had the very same mindset. Lembo states, I mean, not playing the rest of the season definitely upset me, but I tried to have the same attitude about everything as if I wasnt hurt. They both, not only have dedicated the past year to rehab and training, but they have also stuck by their fellow Pioneers throughout, helping in any way they could. Of course, since they could not actively play alongside their teammates, they still helped and provided much feedback to their fellow pitchers. Stoddard would even hang out in the bullpen and help Coach Mazzoni as the honorary bullpen coach. Lembo kept the guys loose, at all times, by echoing the name of sophomore catcher, Jake Friar, in a friendly yet hysterical manner when requested, which the entire team loved.
The 2016 season should definitely be an
exciting year for these two, as they look to bounce back from their 2015 season ending Tommy John Surgeries. Both of them possess the drive and determination needed to comeback and be successful as they once were.