User:Elbow ligament

UCL Ligament
The ulnar collateral ligament lies between the radius and ulna of the elbow, which holds the elbow together. The ulnar collateral ligament is also known as the medial ulnar collateral ligament. People who normally tear his ligament are athletes, typically baseball pitchers because they throw too hard. The only way to help this tear out is by surgery, which is popularly known as the “Tommy John Surgery.” The way this surgery occurs is that the surgeons get a tendon from a different part of the body; such as: the hand, wrist, hamstring or forearm.

Surgery and Exercises
The tendon chosen is then woven in a figure eight pattern through the humerus and ulna, which holes were first drilled in the bones . After surgery occurs, rehabilitation comes into place and usually takes about a year because a tendon needs time to convert into a ligament .  Part of rehabilitation is motion restriction. For example, no extending of the elbow, then after you must strengthen the elbow by joining a throwing program or rehab programs (Bernas, Hughes, Miller, 2009). During rehabilitation there is weight training exercise and stretches to help the elbow out. The affected shoulder can be strengthen by isometric exercises like the pendulum exercise because it restores shoulder motion . A stretch that can be done to help the muscles around the elbow is the flexion and extension of the wrist. The wrist stretches should be done in 3-4 sets of 15 repetitions each.

Statistics
All these exercises and stretches increase the range of motion in the elbow. There was a study done of non-operative treatment, which required 3 months rest, but only 42% of athletes were able to return to their level of competition . When going through ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction athletes have a 90% chance of returning to their level of competition . If someone ever suffers from the UCL tear, surgery is the way to go and rehabilitation is a must because it helps the pitchers return to their love of sport with being able to play        as well as they did.