Although I’ve spent a good amount of time working with professional and NCAA athletes, the majority of my patients nowadays come to me with more conventional injuries. Case in point: most wrist surgeries I perform these days are more likely to be for repetitive stress symptoms from activities such as golf and tennis than for gridiron trauma.

Still, it is helpful sometimes to highlight what professional athletes go through, and why their outsized physical injuries can benefit from the same orthopedic surgical procedures as the rest of us. Star Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is a perfect example: After straining a wrist tendon at the World Baseball Classic last year, Teixeira eventually was forced to take a seat for more than 100 games.

And how is he feeling now after his wrist surgery?

“I’m close to 100 percent. I feel like I’m healed. I wish I was a little bit looser; my wrist is going to be tight for a while because of the way the surgery was performed. They had to kind of tighten everything up to make it secure. It’s still a little bit tight, but that’s why I’m doing rehab every day and doing exercises every day. I’ll start swinging a bat in January and that will also help loosen it up.”

Just a little snapshot into how fast and seamless recovery can be in the hands of an experienced orthopedic surgeon. If you suffer from elbow, wrist or hand pain and want to speak with a wrist surgery expert here in San Diego, please contact my offices today.