Health
Tommy John surgery continues to save baseball careers 50 years after its debut: 'Revolutionary'
It’s been nearly 50 years since one of the biggest advancements in sports medicine: Tommy John surgery.
On Sept. 25, 1974, Dr. Frank Jobe first performed the operation on Tommy John, a professional baseball pitcher who played on Major League Baseball (MLB) teams between 1963 and 1989.
During the surgery, Jobe reconstructed a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in John’s left arm.
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It was a pioneering achievement for Jobe and a lifeline for John, who went from a career-ending injury to 14 more years in the majors — and an eponymous connection to sports medicine that would live on long past his playing days.
Since then, Tommy John surgery — more formally known as ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine — has been performed on many other baseball players.
New York Yankees pitcher Tommy John delivering a pitch versus the Kansas City Royals during a game at Yankee Stadium on July 9, 1988, in New York. (Getty Images)
Those players include David Wells (1985), John Smoltz (2000), Stephen Strasburg (2010), Rich Hill (2011), Shohei Ohtani (2018), Justin Verlander (2020) and Bryce Harper (2022), to name a few, according to MLB.
“I wouldn’t still be standing here if it weren’t for a surgery like this,” Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech said, according to the Associated Press. “It’s doubled the length of my career.”
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John Gallucci, a New Jersey-based physical therapist specializing in sports injuries, noted that Tommy John surgery has prolonged and saved many careers.
“Before this surgery, a torn UCL was considered a career-ending injury,” he told Fox News Digital.
“This surgery was a major advancement in treatment and was revolutionary for athletes and those who suffer from elbow injuries.”
Dr. Frank Jobe, orthopedic surgeon and Los Angeles Dodgers team physician, pioneered elbow ligament replacement and shoulder surgery for baseball players, a procedure commonly known today as Tommy John surgery. Jobe is pictured here in 1997. (Getty Images)
Alongside arthroscopic surgery and ACL reconstruction, Tommy John surgery is one of the biggest advancements in sports medicine in the last 50 years, according to Dr. Tim Kremchek, a longtime physician for the Cincinnati Reds.
“It [has] just prolonged and saved so many careers,” he said to the AP.
“Not just in baseball, but now for some other sports that we’re doing it for — so many other athletes, especially overhead athletes. But in terms of baseball, I think it’s allowed us to see some of the greatest players in the world continue to play for a long period of time.”
“It’s allowed us to see some of the greatest players in the world continue to play for a long period of time.”
In the debut operation at Rancho Los Amigos, a Southern California hospital, Jobe removed the palmaris longus tendon from John’s right arm, drilled four holes in his left elbow — and then used the tendon to replace the torn ligament.
“It wasn’t a new idea,” Jobe said in July 2013, about seven months before he died.
“It was just new for the elbow.”
In the first procedure, Jobe removed the palmaris longus tendon from John’s right arm, drilled four holes in his left elbow, and then used the tendon to replace the torn ligament (not pictured). (iStock)
The procedure itself hasn’t changed much since Jobe pioneered it, though doctors have made a few improvements.
“It has remained primarily the same, but advancements have been made,” said Gallucci.
“These advancements have made the surgery even more effective in tandem with work from physical therapists and certified athletic trainers during the recovery process.”
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“Due to the advancements made and the rehabilitation process improvements, the standard recovery period has been cut nearly in half from what it was 50 years ago,” he added.
The effects of Tommy John surgery have been seen in players’ performance on the field.
Verlander won the AL Cy Young Award in 2022, two years after he had Tommy John surgery.
Tommy John of the New York Yankees is pictured prior to the start of a Major League Baseball game circa 1987 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. (Getty Images)
Harper, who had the procedure in Nov. 2022, returned to Philadelphia’s lineup in May.
Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow, who had Tommy John in 2021, struck out 162 batters in a career-high 120 innings last year.
Within months of receiving his second major elbow operation, Ohtani landed a record-breaking $700 million contract from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“There’s no question that Tommy John is the most valuable reconstructive procedure there is.”
“If you put it in dollars and cents, I think there’s no question that Tommy John is the most valuable reconstructive procedure there is,” Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the head team physician for the Dodgers and the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, told the AP.
Despite its high success rate, the main challenge associated with the surgery has been the extended recovery and rehabilitation process.
For about 10 days after the surgery, the patient must wear a cast at a 90-degree angle.
“It wasn’t a new idea,” Jobe said in July 2013, about seven months before he died. “It was just new for the elbow.” (Getty Images)
It then takes months for the player to regain a full range of motion, and usually at least a year before returning to the field.
“Although this surgery was revolutionary, the road to recovery is no easy process — and that is where physical therapy comes into play,” said Gallucci, who has seen patients throughout the years in rehab from Tommy John surgery.
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“It requires commitment from the patient, as it is no easy feat,” he said.
“Although it takes a few months of rehab and slowly increasing strengthening exercises, I have seen patients make a full recovery and be able to play again.”
Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin, who had surgery on Sept. 1, recalled his first day of throwing after the operation.
Tommy John, the 4-time All Star pitcher who won 288 games, is pictured at right with Tommy John III, a chiropractor in sports medicine. (Getty Images)
“It was like 30 throws, nice and easy, and just felt super foreign, like I’d never thrown before,” he said, as the AP reported. “Took some video on it, and they did not look pretty at all. Then I threw a couple [of] days later and it felt much better.”
Approaching the 50th anniversary of the surgery, Gonsolin said he is grateful for the medical advancement that started with Tommy John in 1974.
“I think the evolution of the surgery and just the sheer medical breakthrough from it allows [it] to extend people’s careers,” he said.
“It gives everybody a second opportunity.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The key to feeling better in a fast, overstimulated world might be surprisingly simple: Live a little more like your grandparents.
A growing social media trend, dubbed “nonnamaxxing,” draws inspiration from the slower, more intentional rhythms associated with an Italian grandmother.
The lifestyle is often linked to activities like preparing home-cooked meals, spending time outdoors and making meaningful connections.
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“Nonnamaxxing is a 2026 trend that embraces the slower, more intentional lifestyle of an Italian grandmother (a Nonna). Think cooking from scratch, long family meals, daily walks, gardening and less screen time,” Erin Palinski-Wade, a New Jersey-based registered dietitian, told Fox News Digital.
Nonnamaxxing, derived from the name for an Italian grandmother, is a trend that incorporates lifestyle habits hundreds of years in the making. (iStock)
Stepping away from screens and toward real-world interaction can have measurable benefits, according to California-based psychotherapist Laurie Singer.
“We know that interacting with others in person, rather than spending time on screens, significantly improves mental health,” she told Fox News Digital, adding that social media often fuels comparison and lowers self-esteem.
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Living more like previous generations isn’t purely driven by nostalgia. Cooking meals from scratch, for example, has been linked to better nutrition and more mindful eating patterns.
Adopting traditional mealtime habits can improve diet quality and support both physical and mental health, especially when meals are shared regularly with others, Palinski-Wade noted.
One longevity expert stresses that staying healthy isn’t just about food — it’s also about joy and community. (iStock)
There’s also a psychological benefit to slowing down and focusing on one task at a time. Anxiety often stems from unfinished or avoided tasks, Singer noted, and engaging in hands-on activities can counteract that.
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“Nonnamaxxing encourages us to be present around a task, like gardening, baking or knitting, or just taking a mindful walk, that delivers something ‘real,’” she said.
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Palinski-Wade cautions against turning the trend into another source of pressure, noting that a traditional “nonna” lifestyle often assumes a different pace of life.
The key, she said, is adapting the mindset, not replicating it perfectly.
Nonnamaxxing, derived from the name for an Italian grandmother, is a trend that incorporates lifestyle habits hundreds of years in the making. (iStock)
The goal is to reintroduce small, intentional moments that make you feel better.
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That might mean prioritizing a few shared meals each week, taking a walk without your phone or setting aside time for a simple hobby, the expert recommended.
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Singer added, “Having a positive place to escape to, through whatever activities speak to us and make us happy, isn’t generational – it’s human.”
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Feeling lonely may take a toll on older adults’ memory — but it may not speed up cognitive decline, according to a new study.
Researchers from Colombia, Spain and Sweden analyzed data from more than 10,000 adults ages 65 to 94 across 12 European countries and found those who reported higher levels of loneliness did worse on memory tests at the start of the study, according to research published this month in the journal Aging & Mental Health.
Over a seven-year period, however, memory decline occurred at a similar rate regardless of how lonely participants felt.
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“The finding that loneliness significantly impacted memory, but not the speed of decline in memory over time was a surprising outcome,” lead author Dr. Luis Carlos Venegas-Sanabria of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Universidad del Rosario said in a statement.
Loneliness may be linked to memory performance in older adults, a new study suggests. (iStock)
“It suggests that loneliness may play a more prominent role in the initial state of memory than in its progressive decline,” Venegas-Sanabria said, adding that the findings highlight the importance of addressing loneliness as a factor in cognitive performance.
The findings add to debate about whether loneliness contributes to dementia risk. While loneliness and social isolation are often considered risk factors for cognitive decline, research results have been mixed.
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The study looked at data from the long-running Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), which tracked 10,217 older adults between 2012 and 2019. Participants were asked to recall words immediately and after a delay to measure memory performance.
Social isolation and loneliness could play a surprising role in cognitive health among seniors. (iStock)
Loneliness was assessed using three questions about how often participants felt isolated, left out or lacking companionship.
About 8% of participants reported high levels of loneliness at the outset. That group tended to be older, more likely to be female and more likely to have conditions such as depression.
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Researchers found that those with higher loneliness had lower scores on both immediate and delayed memory tests at baseline. Still, all groups — regardless of loneliness level — experienced similar declines in memory over time.
The results suggest loneliness may not directly accelerate the progression of memory loss, though it remains linked to poorer cognitive performance overall.
Researchers look at a brain scan at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
Experts warn, however, that the findings should not be interpreted to mean loneliness is harmless.
“The finding that lonely older adults start with worse memory but don’t decline faster is actually the most interesting part of the paper, and I think it’s easy to misread,” said Jordan Weiss, Ph.D., a scientific advisor and aging expert at Assisted Living Magazine and a professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
“It likely means loneliness does its damage earlier in life, well before people show up in a study like this at 65-plus,” Weiss told Fox News Digital.
By older age, long-term social patterns may already be established, making it harder to detect when the effects of loneliness first took hold, an aging expert says. (iStock)
He suggested that by older age, long-term social patterns may already be established, making it harder to detect when the effects of loneliness first took hold.
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“By the time you’re measuring someone in their late 60s, decades of social connection patterns are already baked in,” he said.
Weiss, who was not involved in the research, added that loneliness may coincide with other health conditions, and noted that participants who felt more isolated also had higher rates of depression, high-blood pressure and diabetes. The link, he said, may reflect a cluster of health risks rather than a direct cause.
“While they can go hand-in-hand, it’s not clear that loneliness contributes to dementia,” a psychotherapist says. (iStock)
Amy Morin, a Florida-based psychotherapist and author, said the findings reflect a broader pattern in research on loneliness and brain health, and that the relationship may be more complex than it appears.
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“The evidence shows there’s a link between loneliness and cognitive decline but there’s no direct evidence of a cause and effect relationship,” she said. “So while they can go hand-in-hand, it’s not clear that loneliness contributes to dementia.”
Morin added that loneliness, which can fluctuate, may not be the root of the problem, but rather a symptom of other underlying mental or physical health issues.
Researchers suggested screening for loneliness be incorporated into routine cognitive assessments as one way to support healthy aging. (iStock)
She said staying socially and mentally engaged is crucial for overall brain health.
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“It’s important to be proactive about social activities,” Morin said. “Joining a book club, having coffee with a friend, or attending faith-based services can be a powerful way to maintain connections in older age.”
The researchers also suggested screening for loneliness be incorporated into routine cognitive assessments as one way to support healthy aging.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.
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