Ludhiana, March 31
After the tennis elbow that afflicted the master stroke player of the Indian cricket team nearly more than a year ago, Sachin Tendulkar is once again down with yet another shoulder injury which forced him out of the sport for the ongoing ODI series against England and seek surgical treatment in England.
The mainstay of Indian batting for quite some time now, Sachin has already been operated upon in England but complete recovery and rehabilitation, which will see the batting maestro wield the willow once again, will obviously take some more time, ranging between three to six months, if orthopaedicians and sport medicine specialists are to be believed.
Discussing in detail the shoulder injury of Sachin and his chances of regaining the previous form, Dr Harpreet S. Gill, consultant orthopedic surgeon at SPS Apollo Hospitals here, remarked that rehabilitation after surgical treatment of “superior labrum anterior posterior” (SLAP) tear injuries (suffered by Sachin) varies, depending on factors such as the strength of the SLAP repair, and the preference of the surgeon.
Most often, a period of time of restricted motion is maintained for about four to six weeks following an SLAP repair. During this first phase of rehabilitation, some passive motion or active pendulum movements are allowed to prevent shoulder stiffness. In the first phase, the torn labrum is healing into its proper position.
Dr Gill, who is a former fellow, Division of Shoulder and Sports Medicine at John Hopkins University, Baltimore (USA), said once healed, patients enter the second phase of rehabilitation and can begin more motion at about six weeks. Physical therapy continues to help maintain motion and regain strength of the shoulder.
The final phase of rehabilitation involves more active strengthening of the muscles that surround the shoulder joint, and full recovery is expected between three to four months. In the final phase of rehabilitation, throwing protocols are followed in which sportsmen are told to gradually increase the throws day by day.
He was of the opinion that through gradual rehabilitation, the dedicated athlete can often return to sport at his or her previous level of performance. Various studies in literature have shown good results of the SLAP repair in 85 to 95 per cent of patients. The rehabilitation protocols are individualised and return to sport is usually around three months, while in some cases, it may even take six months.
In Tendulkar's case, remarks Dr Gill, the Indian team requires his batting ability more than his bowling. Hence the Indian team management has to facilitate his early return to sport. As and when, he resumes playing, it will be advisable for the player, at least in the early phase of return to play, that he fields in close-in positions rather than deep fielding positions, so as to avoid overhead throws. Further, he should be throwing the ball under-arm as much as possible, avoid hook stroke in the initial period and should not be bowling for some more time.
Dr Gill concluded that professional athletes and sport persons can definitely return to the sport and achieve their pre-injury level after the surgical repair of labral (SLAP) tears.
