A Comparative Analysis of Ulnar Collateral Ligament Repair to Reconstruction — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

A Comparative Analysis of Ulnar Collateral Ligament Repair to Reconstruction

Name: Frank Esposito
Major: Athletic Training
Hometown: Bolingbrook, IL
Faculty Sponsor: Laurie Jensen
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project

Abstract

There is an overall increased return to play time associated with ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction in high level athletes. A new surgical technique for repairing the UCL has been shown to dramatically reduce the return to play time. This comparative analysis was written to identify and make Athletic Trainers aware of an alternative UCL surgery to inform patients of better outcomes and quicker return to play time associated with repairing the UCL. The method of analysis was from peer reviewed studies that compared the reconstruction and repair of the UCL. The articles were summarized to formulate a clinical answer to the PICO question. The majority demographics of these articles consisted of high school age to professional level pitchers with a chronic or acute UCL pathology. The conclusion of this analysis is that repairing the UCL showed a lower failure rate and decreased return to play time in baseball pitchers. On average, athletes were throwing at the same level or higher within six months. Additionally, UCL repair adequately restored the valgus stability of the elbow. Continued research is needed to identify the long term outcomes of UCL repair.