Tigers' Tarik Skubal's unthinkable elbow recovery paves the way for MLB through medical advancement

Tigers' Tarik Skubal's unthinkable elbow recovery paves the way for MLB through medical advancement originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

>The Detroit Tigers lost Tarik Skubal at the beginning of May after he injured his elbow. It was later announced that Skubal would undergo surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow, a procedure that has become increasingly common around Major League Baseball.

>Elbow surgery to remove loose bodies has become a more frequent procedure in MLB. For Skubal, the expectation was that he would be sidelined for a couple of months.

>“Many pitchers have had arthroscopic procedures to remove loose bodies, such as a bone chip, which is what Skubal had, and the typical recovery time is two to three months,” ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote.

>However, just one month later, Skubal was set to make his first appearance since the injury. His return came significantly quicker than expected as he took the mound for the West Michigan Whitecaps.

>“Tarik Skubal’s next team has been revealed: The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner is about to become a West Michigan Whitecap, making a rehab start with the High-A club on Sunday. The start against Dayton could be the final step in Skubal’s rehab following surgery to remove a loose body from his left elbow,” MLB.com’s Jason Beck wrote.

>Skubal was lights out in his rehab appearance, and it hardly looked like he was returning from an elbow injury. It appears the nanoscope technology used during his surgery could represent a turning point in procedures involving loose bodies.

>“Tarik Skubal underwent elbow surgery May 6. One month and one day later, he threw five scoreless innings on 54 pitches and punched out six at High-A. Maybe Skubal is just that guy, but if nanoscope technology halves the return time from bone-chip injuries, what an advancement,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan posted.

>Everyone around the league is going to take notice of how quickly Skubal returned. If the results continue to be this successful, the nanoscope could become a common tool used in these types of surgeries.

>Not only did Skubal return remarkably fast from surgery, but he may have also helped establish a new trend for future procedures. Teams and players throughout the league will undoubtedly want a quicker recovery from loose-body surgery, and if this technology continues to deliver these kinds of results, it could become the new standard across baseball.

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