Why don't NFL players have Tommy John surgery?

[BringBackFergy]

A serious question:

 

Baseball players/pitchers sometime require Tommy John surgery because the throwing motion in baseball is unnatural (overhand).

Softball players don't require Tommy John because underhand throwing is actually the natural motion for our arms and shoulders.

 

NFL QB's throw overhand....

 

I'm surprised more QB's haven't had to undergo Tommy John surgery.

 

Is there a reason?

[boater]

https://www.quora.com/Why-don-t-NFL-QBs-seem-to-get-injuries-that-need-Tommy-John-surgery-as-MLB-pitchers-do

[MJS]

Pitchers throw at an extremely high velocity 150 times a game. And they have 162 games in a season. They don't play every game, but they play a lot more games than NFL QB's do.

 

So I think they just throw it a ton more than an NFL QB, and probably at a much higher velocity.

Edited June 13, 2022 by MJS

[scuba guy]

To generate power It is completely different motion and pitchers normally throw with a higher velocity. And also 17 games to know well 120 put really 5 days rest or 26 games. 

[Gugny]

5 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

A serious question:

 

Baseball players/pitchers sometime require Tommy John surgery because the throwing motion in baseball is unnatural (overhand).

Softball players don't require Tommy John because underhand throwing is actually the natural motion for our arms and shoulders.

 

NFL QB's throw overhand....

 

I'm surprised more QB's haven't had to undergo Tommy John surgery.

 

Is there a reason?

 

Baseball is a far more grueling sport than football.

 

Pitchers pitch every 5 days.

NFL QBs play every 7 days.

 

Pitchers usually throw about 100 pitches/game.

QBs throw 30-40 passes.

 

Pitchers are always "throwing hard," even the off-speed stuff is going 75-80 mph and the arm motion is the same.

QBs usually throw the ball less than 10 yards in the air.

 

 

[BringBackFergy]

Just now, scuba guy said:

To generate power It is completely different motion and pitchers normally throw with a higher velocity. And also 17 games to know well 120 put really 5 days rest or 26 games. 

This makes sense.  Historically, I'm wondering how many MLB pitchers have undergone surgery after only two or three years in the minors/majors.  Plus, a lot of NFL QB's played baseball for years.

 

Just now, Gugny said:

 

Baseball is a far more grueling sport than football.

 

 

 

 

With all due respect, you're full of it.

[Gugny]

1 minute ago, BringBackFergy said:

With all due respect, you're full of it.

 

First, that wasn't nice.

 

B.  We're talking about a pitcher, whose season starts at the beginning of spring and ends at the end of fall.  162 regular season games.  A healthy pitcher will start 30-is games in a regular season.  A QB starts 17 games in a regular season.

 

3.  When I say more grueling, I'm specifically referring to the throwing arm.

[teef]

oh...baseball talk!

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by teef

[H2o]

5 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

With all due respect, you're full of it.

Not really. The strain on a pitchers arms is a lot more than the strain on a QB's. 

[BringBackFergy]

Just now, Gugny said:

 

First, that wasn't nice.

 

B.  We're talking about a pitcher, whose season starts at the beginning of spring and ends at the end of fall.  162 regular season games.  A healthy pitcher will start 30-is games in a regular season.  A QB starts 17 games in a regular season.

 

3.  When I say more grueling, I'm specifically referring to the throwing arm.

I see you haven't edited your post above. Here's how you should change it:

"In my unprofessional opinion, having no medical background, a baseball pitcher uses their arm in a more grueling manner on a consistent basis as opposed to a quarterback.  The sport of football is much more grueling, but a baseball pitcher uses their throwing motion more per game than a QB"

Just now, H2o said:

Not really. The strain on a pitchers arms is a lot more than the strain on a QB's. 

So baseball pitchers participate in a more grueling sport?

[The Jokeman]

31 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

A serious question:

 

Baseball players/pitchers sometime require Tommy John surgery because the throwing motion in baseball is unnatural (overhand).

Softball players don't require Tommy John because underhand throwing is actually the natural motion for our arms and shoulders.

 

NFL QB's throw overhand....

 

I'm surprised more QB's haven't had to undergo Tommy John surgery.

 

Is there a reason?

RJ did but apparently it didn't get him to get his arm strength back according to Wikipedia. 

 

 

Comeback attempts (2006–2008)[edit]

Following his release from Oakland in 2004, Johnson underwent Tommy John surgery, a procedure more commonly performed on baseball pitchers. A tendon was taken from Johnson's wrist and transplanted into his elbow to replace the injured tendon that resembled "a frayed rope" from overuse. After a year of recovery, Johnson worked out for the Tennessee Titans, but was not signed. Reports suggested his arm strength was still under 50%. In 2006, Johnson was signed by the New York Giants to compete for a roster spot behind starter Eli Manning. Johnson was released before the preseason came to an end. In an NFL.com interview, Johnson vowed to continue his career for as long as he could play at "an NFL level."

In September 2008, Johnson was invited to a Titans workout, along with Joey Harrington and Chris Simms. However, the Titans signed Simms as a backup for veteran Kerry Collins. This was Johnson's last reported NFL workout.

Edited June 13, 2022 by The Jokeman

[Gugny]

11 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

I see you haven't edited your post above. Here's how you should change it:

"In my unprofessional opinion, having no medical background, a baseball pitcher uses their arm in a more grueling manner on a consistent basis as opposed to a quarterback.  The sport of football is much more grueling, but a baseball pitcher uses their throwing motion more per game than a QB"

So baseball pitchers participate in a more grueling sport?

 

I would not be caught dead writing a disaster of a sentence like the ones you wrote above.

[SACTOBILLSFAN]

The same reason you rarely see torn labrum injuries in QBs as a result of throwing. The arm path is completely different and the overall stress on the UCL isn’t near the same as a baseball player. 
 

Every pitch is thrown with maximum intent and passes in football are not. The power generated through the kinetic chain from ankle flexion all the way through hip and shoulder separation to external rotation in the shoulder then finally into the elbow is exponentially higher in baseball. I have Modus data to back this up but it’s just charts and graphs and not great for this format. For a visual just imagine in your head how a pitcher finishes off every pitch and how a QB finishes every throw. One is considerably more violent than the other. Pitchers have much more in common with javelin throwers than QBs when it comes to arm and shoulder stress and studying javelin throwing was how many breakthroughs in velocity happened. 
 

And as many people have mentioned in this thread, the overall difference in the number of reps in a game or practice is vast. Without taking into account spring and offseason work a starting professional pitcher will throw 5000ish pitches in season. Even the most sparsely used relievers will throw at a volume that QBs just don’t see. 

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

Baseball is a great sport !

 

I'm watching my Beloved Atlanta Braves win 11 games in a row !

 

Very exciting !

[BringBackFergy]

Just now, JakeFrommStateFarm said:

Baseball is a great sport !

 

I'm watching my Beloved Atlanta Braves win 11 games in a row !

 

Very exciting !

Take it to www.baseballmessageboardsfornerds.com

[H2o]

10 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

So baseball pitchers participate in a more grueling sport?

If we are taking into account solely the stress put on an arm and shoulder as a whole while strictly comparing a pitcher to a QB? Absolutely. Now if you are talking about getting hit? Of course they don't get hit. The stress on a pitcher's arm though is well beyond that of a QB. Starting pitchers are putting everything they have into hurling the ball anywhere between 85-120 times an outing. They may take the mound 35 times in a year. That's well beyond the 30-60 passes a QB may throw in, at the most, 21 games. And QB's aren't always throwing the ball as hard as can either. 

[Mark Vader]

5 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

Take it to www.baseballmessageboardsfornerds.com

[Royale with Cheese]

A baseball players arm requires more "snap" and they throw different pitches...the elbow goes through so much more strain.

QB's aren't throwing curveballs, sliders, split fingers etc...

 

Plus they throw hard every throw.  You don't change your arm speed on change ups.

A QB isn't sitting back and throwing with everything on every throw.  There's touch passes, lob passes, quick slants etc...

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by Royale with Cheese

[aristocrat]

Josh almost had to have it when he took the shot from one of the Pats players on his left elbow I think his rookie year or second year

[BringBackFergy]

I'm not sure how he survives each game.