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Sports Medicine

Non-surgical rehab of UCL tear

06/02/2009

Question:

My 18 year old son tore his UCL on his non-throwing arm. He would like to rehab the arm non-surgically. Again, this is his non-throwing arm. However, he does want to lift weights and train intensively as he plans to play soccer at the college level. Is it possible to reach a reasonably optimal strength level in his left arm without surgery and also play with a brace during the soccer season? Also, is there a high risk to causing more damage in the elbow through intense rehab without the surgery? Lastly, is it naive to think he could try a non-surgical rehab first and then have the surgery later if not satisfied with the non-surgical results?

Answer:

It is reasonable to try non-surgical approaches first and then have surgery later if not satisfied.  He may be able to play with just a brace and find his function and strength good enough for what he wants to do.  Everyone is a little different, so it is hard to predict if conservative management will be good enough or if he will have long term problems.

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Response by:

The Ohio State University Tammy S. Wadsworth, PT MS OCS
Sports Medicine Team Member
OSU Outpatient Rehabilitation Center at Hilliard
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
College of Medicine
The Ohio State University
Tammy S. Wadsworth, PT MS OCS