I have a catcher on my summer team who suffered a MCL tear to his knee during school ball. He was released by his doctor for full participation about 3-4 weeks ago. I am still very hesitant to put him behind the plate for fear that it will hurt his full recovery. He really wants to get back behind the plate. Is this a legitimate concern or would his doctor have not released him? If any one has true medical advice that can help us make the right decision it would be very helpful.

An Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) will heal on its own unlike the other ligaments in the knee. It is a broad ligament that attaches in several different places in the knee joint. If the physician has cleared him to play, then there shouldn't be too great of a concern on your part. Maybe start him out a little slow and let him build back up.

Perhaps you could get an opinion on this from ASMI. If you message DR flesig, he is good about getting back to you, and they have some idea of what they are talking about there. Maybe you have a new first baseman for a few games a season. Good luck to your player.

Dr. Flesig really is great about getting back to people - so I second that suggestion.

Another suggestion would be a meeting with the player (and the parent depending upon the age of the player) privately, one on one clarifying any restrictions or concerns.

Questions that the player should have asked the doctor include 1) Does the player need to ease back into catching? 2) What signs should be watched for of any potential flare-ups? 3) What kind of treatment should the player receive after catching? (ice?) 4) Are there any activities that he should avoid for the time being (lunges?)?

The only thing I stayed away from after I tore my MCL during hockey season, going into baseball season, was lunges, and I would play first every couple of games in order to give my knee a rest without having to take a game off, other than that I just iced it after I had been in my crouch for a long period of time, I would have a bag of ice on the bench ready if we had a long inning, and then especially after practice, or lengthy bullpen sessions