The injury has become an epidemic amongst high school kids. And high school kids think if they get the surgery, it will actually give them better velocity.

Here are some interesting bits from his research. The muscles about the elbow are dynamic stabilizers, which help absorb some of the force on the ECOL.


BIOMECHANICS OF THE LIGAMENT TEARS
As the pitcher’s arm accelerates forward, the force on the UCL approaches 60 pounds. This is similar to five bowling balls hanging from your wrist while in the cocking phase of throwing. The forearm essentially wants to detach from the body, which was how Tommy John described how his elbow felt when his UCL tore. A professional pitcher’s UCL strength is pretty much the same as a soccer player’s or a surgeon’s, and there is little the player can do to make it stronger.
UCL Ligament Failure Strength:

32 newton meters.
This is shocking because throwing a baseball imposes a force of 50 newton meters on the UCL – this suggests that the UCL should tear with every pitch.