March 26, 2025 • 7 mins
Dr. John Fritch from OrthoCincy joined us to discuss a slew of Reds-related injury issue, including Tyler Stephenson's oblique, Cam Collier's thumb injury, and a few more.
Learn more about OrthoCincy at OrthoCincy.com
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Learn more about OrthoCincy at OrthoCincy.com
Podcasts of The Mo Egger Radio Show are a service of Longnecks Sports Grill.
Listen to the show live weekday afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 on ESPN1530.
Listen Live: ESPN1530.com/listen
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's time to talk injuries with one of the experts
from ortho since orthopedics and sports medicine. The great thing
about orthosince is they have specialists and locations and services
all over the Tri State, including in Highland Heights, were
my guy, doctor angel Velaskaz fixed my neck walk in
orthopedic urgent care at five locations, extended evening and weekend
(00:21):
hours in Edgewood and Anderson. Learn more at Orthosincy dot com.
That's ortho ci ncy dot com. Doctor John Fridge from
ORTHOSINCI is with us. Let's start by talking about Tyler Stevenson,
who is going to start the season on the injured list.
He is dealing with an oblique injury. Are there different
grades for oblique injuries?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah? Absolutely, Thanks for having me on the show though,
So Yeah, we see these oblique strains time and time again,
pretty common injury in baseball. We grade them based on
the MRI findings on a grading scale of one to three,
one being mild a little bit of stretch moup to
being partial tearing, and three being more complete tearing of
the muscle itself. The treatment generally is pretty much the
(01:07):
same but gives us some guidance as when we can
expect them to be able to return to play.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
So these injuries always seem to last longer than the
minimum eyel stint. Why is that?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Absolutely so, these types of injuries were waiting on the
muscle to heal, and even after it does heal, they're
at high risk of it recring or re injuring, and
that's why they seem to always take longer than expected,
particularly in baseball, where you're relying on rotational movement through
your core. It's put in pretty much anything you're doing,
whether it's adding, pitching, throwing, it's going to be pulling
(01:43):
on your obliques, and so these have a high rate
of reinjuring and so end up taking quite a bit
longer to get them back to play.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
They always seem to just kind of pop up, like
a player will come back right from an oblique injury
and then they'll go, you know, and play for a
few weeks and then it feels like it pops up again.
Why is that so?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
We think it's because that there's kind of a weak
spot where things tour and they heal, and so when
the muscle heals together, it forms that scar tissue there
where it heals together, and we think that the week's
point is right adjacent to that, so that high risk
of re injuring this. Although it's safe for them to
return to play, we're really working on kind of rehabbing,
(02:27):
making sure that they're stretching their obliques in core strengthening.
But unfortunately somebody these are unavoidable.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
How does an injury like this get treated?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
So, like we talked about a little bit, the biggest
thing is initial period of rest, avoiding those rotational movements,
so unfortunately that means not really throwing or batting for
a period of time. Icing, different methods of taping can
help with the recovery, and then pretty extensive rehab to
work on a sense or strengthening of these muscles, strengthening
(03:01):
your obliques and core while elong dating those muscles to
help with the recovery period.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
It's also I think concerning that he plays catcher right
like a physically demanding position. Lots going on. Obviously every
position is susceptible to injury, but is there an added
concern because of the position that he plays.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Oh? Absolutely, I mean the specific past seed that are
required to him during a game are certainly going to
put more stress on his core than the average player,
and so it's very possible that this could take up
a little longer to recover from, and he's certainly at
risk of re injuring. I know, their physical their athletic
training staff has certainly taking this into consideration and it's
(03:44):
being extra careful with returning of the play.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Ask you about Alexis Dias. Doctor John Fridge from Orthos,
Cincia is with us, also going to start the season
on the injured list with a hamstring injury, said he
felt something during fielding drills late in February, which was
obviously a while ago, early during spring training, went through spring,
appeared in four games. He wasn't that effective. He has
(04:08):
since been placed on the injured list. How do you
typically treat a hamstring injury?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
I mean, the vast majority of hamstring injuries are treated
without surgery. Really, the only time we treat it with
surgery is when the hamstring tendon rips off of the
pelvis where it connects kind of up fire. But more commonly,
i's a muscular tear or strain, and unfortunately there's difficult
injuries to recover from, but mostly get better without a surgery.
(04:37):
The types of treatment we use aside from raster rehab
and physical therapy to work on the centric strengthening icing
and athletes sometimes will consider injections a Hoart zone or
plate let ridge plasma to help recovery process. All kind
of depends on the degree of injury and location.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
One more to ask you about suspect who I think everybody
agrees has a really bright future in front of him.
Cam Collier has a UCL tear in his left thumb.
Had surgery on March thirteenth. The hope is that he
is going to start hitting by the end of next month.
I've heard of UCLs as they relate to elbows. What
does the UCL of the thumb do?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
So pretty similar to the elbow. It's a stabilizing ligament
at the thumb. It helps keep it stable side to side.
And so oftentimes when you injury this because you've caught
your thumb on something and I've pulled it and tore
that ligament.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Does the ligament have to be torn to require surgery?
They obviously perform surgery.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Here usually, and so surgery is performed if the thumb
is unstable, and so if you're able to move it
more than you should side to side. Then that generally
indicates that that ligament is torn or it's attachment site,
that the bone is broken, and so that warrants.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Of surgery timeline for Cam makes sense that it would
it would seem reasonable to expect him to start doing
baseball stuff by late April.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I think so. I think recently our surgical techniques for
repairing these have gotten a lot better. The hardware we're
using is more resistant, and so typical return to drills
is about four to six weeks and return to play
on average around eight weeks.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
You see in baseball now, when guys reach base they
put on what looks like in oven mid. In fact,
that's just what we call it, the protective oven mid.
Cam got injured making a swite tag. But for base runners,
do you recommend the oven min?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I mean, the best answer is it depends. It's all
about risk and benefit. I do think the oven mit
likely decreases the incidents of these tyson entries your thumb
catching something because it's covered and protected. But I mean,
what do you lose from that? You lose some dexterity
in your hand. I mean, maybe not all players feel
comfortable with having that on their hand, they's a limiting factor.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Every kid that I know the plays baseball has an
oven mid and I don't think they were for protective purposes.
I think they think it looks cool. But uh, we'll see.
I appreciate the time as always, man, thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
All right, thanks both, take care.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
There you go. Doctor John Fridge from Orthos Sincy. I
say this every week, and I'm serious about this. I
took my daughter to Ortho Sincy when she broke her foot.
My wife messed up her ankle, went to Ortho Sincy.
My neck was just a colossal mess. I went to
Orthos Sincy or a't Ortho Sincy family Orthos since the
orthopedic urgent care. You never excuse me need an appointment.
(07:34):
Go to Ortho ci ncy dot com. That's Ortho c
I n c Y dot com. Brennanvan and Jones on
Baseball next
It's time to talk injuries with one of the experts
from ortho since orthopedics and sports medicine. The great thing
about orthosince is they have specialists and locations and services
all over the Tri State, including in Highland Heights, were
my guy, doctor angel Velaskaz fixed my neck walk in
orthopedic urgent care at five locations, extended evening and weekend
(00:21):
hours in Edgewood and Anderson. Learn more at Orthosincy dot com.
That's ortho ci ncy dot com. Doctor John Fridge from
ORTHOSINCI is with us. Let's start by talking about Tyler Stevenson,
who is going to start the season on the injured list.
He is dealing with an oblique injury. Are there different
grades for oblique injuries?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah? Absolutely, Thanks for having me on the show though,
So Yeah, we see these oblique strains time and time again,
pretty common injury in baseball. We grade them based on
the MRI findings on a grading scale of one to three,
one being mild a little bit of stretch moup to
being partial tearing, and three being more complete tearing of
the muscle itself. The treatment generally is pretty much the
(01:07):
same but gives us some guidance as when we can
expect them to be able to return to play.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
So these injuries always seem to last longer than the
minimum eyel stint. Why is that?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Absolutely so, these types of injuries were waiting on the
muscle to heal, and even after it does heal, they're
at high risk of it recring or re injuring, and
that's why they seem to always take longer than expected,
particularly in baseball, where you're relying on rotational movement through
your core. It's put in pretty much anything you're doing,
whether it's adding, pitching, throwing, it's going to be pulling
(01:43):
on your obliques, and so these have a high rate
of reinjuring and so end up taking quite a bit
longer to get them back to play.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
They always seem to just kind of pop up, like
a player will come back right from an oblique injury
and then they'll go, you know, and play for a
few weeks and then it feels like it pops up again.
Why is that so?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
We think it's because that there's kind of a weak
spot where things tour and they heal, and so when
the muscle heals together, it forms that scar tissue there
where it heals together, and we think that the week's
point is right adjacent to that, so that high risk
of re injuring this. Although it's safe for them to
return to play, we're really working on kind of rehabbing,
(02:27):
making sure that they're stretching their obliques in core strengthening.
But unfortunately somebody these are unavoidable.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
How does an injury like this get treated?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
So, like we talked about a little bit, the biggest
thing is initial period of rest, avoiding those rotational movements,
so unfortunately that means not really throwing or batting for
a period of time. Icing, different methods of taping can
help with the recovery, and then pretty extensive rehab to
work on a sense or strengthening of these muscles, strengthening
(03:01):
your obliques and core while elong dating those muscles to
help with the recovery period.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
It's also I think concerning that he plays catcher right
like a physically demanding position. Lots going on. Obviously every
position is susceptible to injury, but is there an added
concern because of the position that he plays.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Oh? Absolutely, I mean the specific past seed that are
required to him during a game are certainly going to
put more stress on his core than the average player,
and so it's very possible that this could take up
a little longer to recover from, and he's certainly at
risk of re injuring. I know, their physical their athletic
training staff has certainly taking this into consideration and it's
(03:44):
being extra careful with returning of the play.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Ask you about Alexis Dias. Doctor John Fridge from Orthos,
Cincia is with us, also going to start the season
on the injured list with a hamstring injury, said he
felt something during fielding drills late in February, which was
obviously a while ago, early during spring training, went through spring,
appeared in four games. He wasn't that effective. He has
(04:08):
since been placed on the injured list. How do you
typically treat a hamstring injury?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
I mean, the vast majority of hamstring injuries are treated
without surgery. Really, the only time we treat it with
surgery is when the hamstring tendon rips off of the
pelvis where it connects kind of up fire. But more commonly,
i's a muscular tear or strain, and unfortunately there's difficult
injuries to recover from, but mostly get better without a surgery.
(04:37):
The types of treatment we use aside from raster rehab
and physical therapy to work on the centric strengthening icing
and athletes sometimes will consider injections a Hoart zone or
plate let ridge plasma to help recovery process. All kind
of depends on the degree of injury and location.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
One more to ask you about suspect who I think everybody
agrees has a really bright future in front of him.
Cam Collier has a UCL tear in his left thumb.
Had surgery on March thirteenth. The hope is that he
is going to start hitting by the end of next month.
I've heard of UCLs as they relate to elbows. What
does the UCL of the thumb do?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
So pretty similar to the elbow. It's a stabilizing ligament
at the thumb. It helps keep it stable side to side.
And so oftentimes when you injury this because you've caught
your thumb on something and I've pulled it and tore
that ligament.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Does the ligament have to be torn to require surgery?
They obviously perform surgery.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Here usually, and so surgery is performed if the thumb
is unstable, and so if you're able to move it
more than you should side to side. Then that generally
indicates that that ligament is torn or it's attachment site,
that the bone is broken, and so that warrants.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Of surgery timeline for Cam makes sense that it would
it would seem reasonable to expect him to start doing
baseball stuff by late April.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I think so. I think recently our surgical techniques for
repairing these have gotten a lot better. The hardware we're
using is more resistant, and so typical return to drills
is about four to six weeks and return to play
on average around eight weeks.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
You see in baseball now, when guys reach base they
put on what looks like in oven mid. In fact,
that's just what we call it, the protective oven mid.
Cam got injured making a swite tag. But for base runners,
do you recommend the oven min?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I mean, the best answer is it depends. It's all
about risk and benefit. I do think the oven mit
likely decreases the incidents of these tyson entries your thumb
catching something because it's covered and protected. But I mean,
what do you lose from that? You lose some dexterity
in your hand. I mean, maybe not all players feel
comfortable with having that on their hand, they's a limiting factor.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Every kid that I know the plays baseball has an
oven mid and I don't think they were for protective purposes.
I think they think it looks cool. But uh, we'll see.
I appreciate the time as always, man, thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
All right, thanks both, take care.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
There you go. Doctor John Fridge from Orthos Sincy. I
say this every week, and I'm serious about this. I
took my daughter to Ortho Sincy when she broke her foot.
My wife messed up her ankle, went to Ortho Sincy.
My neck was just a colossal mess. I went to
Orthos Sincy or a't Ortho Sincy family Orthos since the
orthopedic urgent care. You never excuse me need an appointment.
(07:34):
Go to Ortho ci ncy dot com. That's Ortho c
I n c Y dot com. Brennanvan and Jones on
Baseball next
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