Study: Record 131 Tommy John Surgeries Performed On MLB Players In Last 5 Years

CBS Sports—August 5, 2016

Associate Producer for CBS Local Sports, Ryan Mayer, covers a recent study published in the American Journal of Orthopedics, lead by Joshua S. Dines, MD, sports medicine surgeon at HSS. According the study, investigators found that nearly one-third of the Tommy John surgeries that have ever been performed on MLB players have come in the last five years. The study used the MLB Disabled List (DL) to gather data for the study.

"We've started to look a little more granularity at individual injuries such as core injuries, oblique injuries and Tommy John injuries," said Dr. Dines. 

Why have the surgeries become so common? "I think the reason is two-fold," said Dr. Dines. "One, the results from Tommy John surgery are pretty good where people are getting back to MLB. Second reason, and this goes beyond MLB and all the way down to the youth level, kids are specializing more and playing baseball all year round."

This article originally appeared on CBSSports.com.