I read the New York
Times article “A Revolutionary Surgery, Now as Typical as a Sinker,”
written by Mike Tierney. In this article, the author talks about how widespread
“Tommy John” surgery has become. He says that it, “…now extends to pitchers at
multiple levels of the game, as well as tennis players and javelin throwers,
from athletes as young as 14 to those nearing retirement.” The surgery grafts a
tendon from the forearm into the elbow to act as a ligament. More and more
people are getting this surgery, including young athletes. While it has most
definitely been beneficial for athletes, there are questions about whether or
not people should get it if their ligament hasn’t been torn. Athletes seem to
think that it makes their elbows stronger, but that could also be attributed to
that fact that they are doing more exercises and getting physical therapy. In
recent years the surgery has been advanced to involve a different way of
grafting and a less invasive procedure.
There
is no doubt that the operation is effective, but should this many people be
getting it? The author said, “…baseball patients were amazed to learn that the
condition was not caused by an improper pitching style. ‘Really, really good
technique increases it the most,’ he said, adding that as players got bigger
and stronger, the need for surgery would only increase.” What does this say
about our society? We are driving people, even kids, to compete in sports that
are rapidly breaking down their bodies and destroying their elbows. It is only
through the discoveries of modern medicine that these people can move their
elbows without severe pain. There is so much pressure on athletes to be
successful that they are ruining their bodies. The question should not be “What
can we do to cut down the recovery time of the procedure?” but “What can we do
to stop the harm done on our bodies in sports?”
I
thought that the author did a good job writing a readable article, but I think
that he touched on too many topics and didn’t go in depth enough on any of
them. I would like to know more details about what the surgery involves, and
what it is about the sports these athletes play that causes the injuries. It
would have been a better article if the author had talked more about the
controversy of the operation, because I believe that there is more to it than
what he mentioned.
Tierney, Mike. "A Revolutionary Surgery, Now as Typical
as a Sinker." The New York Times.
The New York Times, 07 Mar. 2014. Web. 09 Mar. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/sports/baseball/how-tommy-john-surgery- has-evolved-since-frank-jobe.html?ref=science&_r=0>.
After reading Fiona’s review of the New York Times Article “A Revolutionary Surgery, Now as Typical as a Sinker,” by Mike Tierney, I learned many new things about this extraordinary surgery, as well as gained an understanding of how prevalent and controversial the procedure is. Fiona did a great job of presenting and summarizing the original article, and I especially liked her integration of quotes, as the voice of someone who is an expert on the topic really shined through. I think that her review and commentary of the article emphasized the core societal issue that this surgery and others that are often used by professional athletes, and that brought the topic and discussion outside of just the realm of science and to a place of more philosophical thinking. By doing this, I found myself much more engaged and interested. She also did a really good job of analyzing what the article’s author was lacking, and I agree that I wish the article would have had some more details of the surgery and how patients get so hurt that they require it. As a whole, Fiona wrote a fantastic review of the article.
ReplyDeleteWhile everything she included was interesting and important, there are a few things I wish she would have done better. In a quote she used in her second paragraph, there was a reference to a “he,” but it was not clear as to who this referred to, so it was harder to understand what was being said. I also would have liked if Fiona would have added a little more of her own voice to her writing, because although her quotes were incorporated well, I felt as though her own ideas got a little lost. Still, her review was written extremely well and I’m very glad I go the chance to read it.
While I had known about Tommy John surgery before, I did not know that it was being used so often and also showed some fundamental issues in our society. I think that this topic is very relevant to our world, as the pressures to succeed in ones respective sport is overwhelming.
I read Fiona’s review of the New York Times article, A Revolutionary Surgery, Now as Typical as a Sinker.” After reading her review I learned a lot about Tommy John surgery, and how widespread it has become. There were multiple aspects of Fiona’s review that really made it stand out. For example, Fiona did a great job summarizing the article overall. I wasn’t lost or confused at any point while reading the review. Also, Fiona did a great job incorporating quotes that were most important to the review and gave a strong impression. Finally, I liked how Fiona set up her review. She first talked about how Tommy John surgery is becoming more prevalent and how people are even requesting surgery, usually athlete, even before tearing their ligament. But then she continued on by saying how the increase of Tommy John surgery shows a lot about our society. How athletes are pushing more than ever to be successful, with abundant amount of pressure to do so. Although Fiona’s review was great, there a few things she could have improved. For instance, going into greater detail about how the surgery proceeds. And also how people go about getting the surgery before even tearing their ligaments. I am very familiar with Tommy John surgery because I am a baseball fan, however I wasn’t aware of how many younger kids get the surgery, and also that people get this surgery before even being hurt.
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