It was on the mound during a high-stakes championship baseball game that Ryan dropped to the ground.
“My pitch flew 30 feet above the batter and I felt the worst pain I had ever felt in my life,” Ryan says, the memory just as fresh today as it was that day during his freshman year at Indian Hills High School. “It literally felt like it (my arm) was going to fall off.”
The diagnosis at a local ER was an avulsion fracture, a serious injury requiring surgery. “I was terrified because I had never had surgery before, Ryan adds. Two days later, Ryan had an operation to repair the damage. After a period of successful rehab, he was ready to get back on the field. However, during baseball tryouts for his sophomore year, the familiar pain returned to his arm. Ryan, his parents, found Frank Alberta, M.D., a board certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon at Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center, who specializes in shoulder and elbow surgery. Dr. Alberta’s examination revealed the problem: the pin used in the initial surgery wasn’t holding up. A second surgery was necessary to correct the health issue. While the procedure meant Ryan had to miss his entire sophomore baseball season, it was a crucial step for his long-term health and return to sports. Ryan returned to the team his junior year, making the varsity squad as a third baseman, a position he held until he graduated this summer.
The year after Dr. Alberta operated on Ryan, it was younger brother Chase who was experiencing elbow issues. Chase, like his brother had been at the time of his injury, was a freshman at Indian Hills. Like Ryan, Chase has played baseball since they were 4-year-old t-ball players. It was an exhibition game, and Chase, who had always played shortstop was on the mound. When his arm was still bothering him after the game, the family knew he needed to get checked out. Dr. Alberta diagnosed ligament damage. Chase underwent a successful surgery followed by rehab.
“When the doctor said I needed surgery it scared me that I would not be able to throw again,” remembers Chase. “They were great,” Chase says referring to Dr. Alberta and the orthopedic
team at HUMC. “They wanted me to get better, and to have fun again in high school.”
Chase is back playing. He completed sophomore year of high school playing JV completely pain free and returns to playing shortstop in September.
The string of elbow injuries was not limited to the Hurley brothers. Dad, Mike, an electrician by trade and a regular at the gym, had been dealing with a nagging elbow pain, attributing it to the combination of his job and his workouts. The chronic discomfort took a sharp turn one day at the gym when he heard a pop. This was accompanied by numbness and pain in his pinky and ring finger.
Because his sons’ had experienced successful outcomes, Mike made an appointment with Dr. Alberta. His diagnosis was a little different – tendon damage similar to severe tennis elbow. Mike would have really missed exercising if he’d been told he had to give it up because of his elbow. For him exercise is essential to a healthy life, not just for the body, but for the mind, too. I try to go every day for at least an hour or an hour and a half. It’s important,” says Mike, who will celebrate his 50th birthday in January.
“I am getting older, so I want to continue exercising because I would like to be around for a little longer,” he says chuckling.
Elbow injuries such as Mike’s is common. As a matter of fact, tennis elbow is common in the general population, and although it is often linked to recreational activities, people who perform repetitive actions can suffer from it, says Dr. Alberta. Some studies suggest that up to 40% of adults will experience elbow, and also wrist pain at some point in their lives. Tennis elbow is most common in adults the ages of 30 and 60, and an estimated 1 million new cases occur every year. affecting everyone from student-athletes to weekend warriors and people with physically demanding jobs. In fact, up to 90% of people who develop conditions like tennis elbow get them from everyday activities, not sports. When do you go to the doctor?
“As in Mike’s case, persistent pain is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. If you’ve tried the standard treatments—rest, ice, compression, physical therapy, and anti-inflammatories—and the pain continues beyond four to six weeks, it’s time to get it evaluated. This is especially true for pain that occurs at rest, but also for any pain that keeps you from activities that are important to you.”
The goal of treatment for Mike was to remove damaged, diseased tissue and to stimulate healing. Following rehab, he is back to work and exercising. Like his sons, he is living pain free.
For Mike and his sons, Ryan and Chase, an active life filled with baseball, workouts, and hard work is a shared bond. Three different injuries, three successful surgeries. Their shared experience, though challenging, ultimately strengthened their family bond as they returned to the activities they love.