DD has unfortunately suffered a grade 3 acute rupture of her Ulnar Collateral Ligament. It happened to her left elbow while diving back to base (she is right handed, this is not a throwing overuse injury).
She still has open growth plates and we have to decide between getting surgery now or later.
Without surgery- she is likely to be back on the diamonds in 6 months, but without a functioning ligament. She would essentially be relying on muscle strength & conditioning. The benefits of this mean that she can finish growing safely and can get back to normal sooner. The negatives are that we would all be living in fear that everything she does might cause another elbow injury. And that at some point she would have to get it done anyway if she wanted to pursue elite levels of sport (which she does).
With surgery- she risks damaging nerves and her growth plates (she still has a lot of growing to do), but in 12 months time she would have some kind of tendon holding things together. This could permanently affect the length of her arm. Although she would miss a lot of opportunities she would be 'fixed' for more serious opportunities further down the track.
While I'm aware of how the UCL is affected during pitching mechanics, I'm not sure how much force etc is used while batting. It is her left arm, she bats right-handed. I know she wont be throwing with her left arm but am concerned that relying on only muscles to bat/extension etc is not going to be ideal.
Her health and safety is our priority, not a game. But I'd still like to know so that we can make an informed decision when both options have many pros & cons.
She still has open growth plates and we have to decide between getting surgery now or later.
Without surgery- she is likely to be back on the diamonds in 6 months, but without a functioning ligament. She would essentially be relying on muscle strength & conditioning. The benefits of this mean that she can finish growing safely and can get back to normal sooner. The negatives are that we would all be living in fear that everything she does might cause another elbow injury. And that at some point she would have to get it done anyway if she wanted to pursue elite levels of sport (which she does).
With surgery- she risks damaging nerves and her growth plates (she still has a lot of growing to do), but in 12 months time she would have some kind of tendon holding things together. This could permanently affect the length of her arm. Although she would miss a lot of opportunities she would be 'fixed' for more serious opportunities further down the track.
While I'm aware of how the UCL is affected during pitching mechanics, I'm not sure how much force etc is used while batting. It is her left arm, she bats right-handed. I know she wont be throwing with her left arm but am concerned that relying on only muscles to bat/extension etc is not going to be ideal.
Her health and safety is our priority, not a game. But I'd still like to know so that we can make an informed decision when both options have many pros & cons.