Sports medicine physicians Dr. Anthony Romeo, Dr. Nikhil Verma, Dr. Charles Bush-Joseph, assisted by sports medicine fellows Dr. Eric Strauss and Dr. Mathew Provencher, were recently awarded the MLB grant to further their research in surgical procedures to repair labral tears. Labral tears are of interest to the MLB, because SLAP (Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior) tears are among the most common injuries affecting the shoulder of MLB pitchers. A SLAP tear occurs at the intersection of the labrum and biceps tendon. Low blood supply as well as the pull of the biceps in this area may not allow for it to heal as easily as other areas of the labrum.

"The injury can be repaired; however an overhead throwing athlete may not be able to return to the same level of play. In fact, only two out of three throwers return, with some of them not at the same level as before the injury. Pitchers often lose velocity and accuracy and may need to transition to a relief pitcher or another field position." explained Dr. Anthony Romeo, Director of the Shoulder & Elbow Section, Division of Sports Medicine, at Rush.

The impact of this research may be even greater at the college and high school level of play. More than 24,000 shoulder injuries are reported in high school baseball players alone, and many are related to labral tears. The physicians at MOR hope to find new procedures to treat the torn labrum, which will lead to a successful return to the level of play the athlete demonstrated before the injury.