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After Surgery Travel Insurance

Sometimes a holiday is exactly what you want and need after surgery. If your doctor has said you are Fit to Travel, then AllClear can help with the right travel insurance. Travel with peace of mind knowing that you have comprehensive cover, including medical emergency and cancellation cover. Get a quote from AllClear today.

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Going on your holidays after you’ve had surgery, post surgery patients and travel insurance, travel insurance after surgery: things to think about before you get your quote, waiting list cover, frequently asked questions, travelling after surgery.

Surgical procedures have developed rapidly over the last 20 years. Many surgeries now use local anesthetic or keyhole surgery, which is far less invasive, or even laser surgery. This means that  complex procedures can be performed with minimal impact on you as a patient. All this can speed up your recovery time, and you might see a holiday as a perfect way to get the post-surgery relaxation that you need. Rightly so, but  it’s more important to make sure you are fully covered for travel insurance after surgery.

At AllClear we’re committed to providing everyone a quote, especially if you are unable to obtain travel insurance elsewhere. This means if you’ve recently had surgery, you should consider one of our specialist travel insurance policies.

The risks of making a claim

When you get a quote, the online medical screening process will monitor the risks of you needing to make a claim. You could be claiming to cancel your holiday or because you need emergency medical treatment while you’re away.  Therefore, if you’ve had an operation recently, there will be certain risks which will be taken into account during the quote process.

Declaring the surgery you have had

Please note, you will not need to declare the surgical procedure directly. Instead, you will need to declare the medical condition that you needed the surgery for. Afterwards, the quote process will ask related questions – which might include questions about having surgery, but not always. For example, if you are looking for travel insurance after heart surgery, you should declare the heart condition(s) that you have.

The importance of comprehensive cover

It’s important that you are fully covered after your surgery, in case you have a medical emergency when away. The 24-hour emergency assistance team will then be on hand to help you make any emergency arrangements you might need. This is especially useful if you have no local knowledge and don’t speak the language of the country you are visiting. The medical emergency assistance company will liaise on your behalf with the doctors and service providers, saving you hours of potential hassle and worry. You will also be avoiding thousands of pounds in potential bills, should the worst happen when you’re far from home.

Benefits of AllClear Cover

  • Before taking out a policy that provides you with travel insurance after surgery, it’s vital that you get confirmation from your doctor that you are fit-to-travel.
  • If you already have an annual multi-trip policy in place, have had surgery, and are now considering going on holiday again, you should check with your doctor that you are considered  fit-to-travel once more. If  you travel against the advice of a doctor or medical practitioner you could invalidate your cover which may mean any claim will be rejected.
  • It’s essential that you declare all of your pre-existing medical conditions to us . Including the medical condition for which you have required surgery.
  • Your travel insurance will  cover the cost of any emergency medical treatment that is necessary whilst you are away. You should be aware, however,  that if you’re travelling for the purpose of receiving medical treatment abroad, you won’t be covered.

As long as you have been declared fit-to-travel we could offer you a quote. So whatever medical conditions have caused the need for surgery, you can get specialist travel insurance that takes care of your needs.

In some cases, your medical condition may require multiple surgeries. This might mean you are on a waiting list for treatment. However,  with many policies you will not be covered for cancellation if you need to cancel for that reason.

However, you have the option to add Waiting List Cover to AllClear Gold and Gold Plus policies . This means you will be covered if you need to cancel or cut short your trip because of being on a waiting list, for example if the date of your operation coincides with your travel dates.

During your quote, you’ll be asked if you are on a waiting list during our medical warranty questions. When you answer ‘yes’, you will only be offered policies that are suitable.

Waiting list cover is only available on single trip policies.

Second year with this company. After having heart surgery found they asked relevant questions which were easy to answer. Paperwork arrived really quickly. Would recommend to anyone with a pre existing condition.  Mrs Elizabeth Ganly

You had surgery last month. Will you be able to get travel insurance?

In principle, yes, providing you are fit to travel.  Make sure you declare the condition for which you had the surgery when getting your quote,  and then answer the medical screening questions. Any answers you need to provide about the surgery will be covered there.  You need to declare all conditions or you won’t be covered if you need to make a claim.

What do you do if you need emergency treatment when you're away?

Firstly, don’t worry. Call the emergency medical phone number as detailed in your policy booklet. You will speak to a 24-hour emergency medical assistance team which provides multilingual support to help you get to the nearest hospital. They will follow your treatment all the way to ensure you get the care you need.

You’re taking medication following your surgery, is it included in your travel insurance policy if it gets lost or stolen?

Yes, an AllClear Gold or Gold Plus policy will cover you for loss of medication up to £300.

If you fall ill just before travelling, will you be covered for cancellation?

Yes. You will need to have declared your medical condition that required the surgery, plus any other pre-existing medical conditions,  at the time of buying your policy. Your doctor will have to have passed you as medically fit to travel at the time.

Simple 3 step quote process

1. call us or click a quote button on our site, 2. complete our simple medical screening process, 3. get your quotes, our 5 star trustpilot rating, read allclear trustpilot reviews.

There are a number of different types of surgery, each of which will place its own demands on the body and affect your recovery time. No person and no operation are all the same.  Therefore, as well as getting your travel insurance after surgery quote,  there are a number of things you might want to thing about when planning a holiday after surgery. We have put these tips together:

Think about how active you want your holiday to be

  • If you are recovering from a minimally invasive procedure like laser eye surgery you may be able to be a lot more active than a more major operation. Your doctor or consultant should be able to  help guide you in these decisions.

Your airline may restrict when you can travel after surgery. Make sure you check with your medical team and the airline as early as you can.  Some operations, like joint replacements, might limit air travel for 3 months or more. As a rough guide, the  Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)  says that before flying, you should allow:

  • one day after simple cataract or corneal laser surgery.
  • one day after a  colonoscopy .
  • one to two days after keyhole surgery.
  • four to five days after simple abdominal surgery.
  • seven days after more complicated eye surgery
  • 10 days after chest surgery or a  coronary artery bypass graft .
  • one to two days after surgery where a plaster cast is applied – if you have a broken arm or leg, it will affect where you can sit; for example, you won’t be allowed to sit in an emergency seat and you may have to purchase an extra seat if you cannot bend your knee to sit normally.
  • two to six weeks after surgery for  retinal detachment  that involves having a gas bubble put in your eye.
  • If you are travelling after you have had a pacemaker  fitted, check out our specific page for more information.

Risk of DVT

If you’re flying after recent surgery, especially on the hips or knees, you’re at an increased risk of  deep vein throbosis (DVT) , a blood clot in one of the deep veins in your body, usually in your legs. Other factors may also increase your risk of DVT, including if:

You’ve had blood clots before.

Your family has a history of blood clots.

You are overweight or obese.

You are pregnant.

If you’re at high risk of DVT, you can speak to your GP. They may get advice from your surgeon. You can take steps to reduce your risk of DVT, such as drinking plenty of water and moving around on the plane. According to the  NHS website , the risk of developing a travel-related DVT is low, even if you’re classed as moderate to high risk.

Destination choices

  • Avoid travelling to an area with poor sanitation or high rates of infectious diseases. Your immune system may be temporarily less robust following your surgery. You may have a reduced ability to fight off infections.

Written by: Russell Wallace | Travel Insurance Expert Last Updated: 8 March 2024

[1] Based on Trustpilot reviews of all companies in the Travel Insurance Company category that have over 30,000 reviews as of January 2023.

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Travel After Surgery: What You Need To Know

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Embarking on an adventure after surgery can seem intimidating. And it’s not hard to see why: concerns about health, recovery, and potential complications can create a sense of unease.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t have to be this way. By planning and taking precautions, you can enjoy a fulfilling and safe travel experience even after a recent surgery without compromising your health.

In this post, we’ll answer some frequently asked questions, including:

  • Can you travel after surgery?
  • How long should you wait to travel after surgery?
  • Can flying too soon after surgery cause complications?
  • What can you do to minimize them?

Without further ado, let’s get started.

Can You Travel After Surgery?

Whether you can travel after surgery will depend on:

  • Your airline’s regulations
  • The type of surgery you had

Each airline has its own rules about post-surgery travel, so it’s important to verify with them, especially if your surgery was complex. Similarly, you should consult your surgeon or GP before flying if you’ve undergone major surgery. They will provide recommendations tailored to your specific needs.

Nevertheless, here are some general guidelines for when it’s safe to fly after surgery:

travel after surgery insurance

Additionally, if you have recently had surgery, you may need to inform your travel insurance provider.

Can Flying Too Soon After Surgery Cause Complications?

The risks of flying shortly after surgery can vary based on the type of surgery and your individual health concerns. Usually, general anesthesia’s cardiac and vascular effects don’t last long and might not impact your flying risk.

However, even without recent surgery, long-distance travel can increase blood clot risks in some people, which is also known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

What is DVT?

Blood clots are generally not dangerous, and may even dissolve on their own. However, a clot forming in the leg’s deep veins can become life-threatening if it dislodges, travels to the lungs, and causes a blockage called a pulmonary embolism.

Although it’s rare to develop DVT from a long flight, airline passengers often:

  • Sit with their legs bent for extended periods
  • Become dehydrated during the flight due to dry, recirculated air

These factors can contribute to blood clot formation. How? Motion and movement cause leg muscles to contract, promoting blood circulation back to the heart. But when legs are immobile, blood pools in the legs, increasing clotting risk.

As a result, traveling by car also carries a DVT risk due to the lack of movement, as does spending excessive time in bed.

You have higher risks of DVT if:

  • You had a hips or knees surgery
  • You had a recent hospital stay with extended bed rest
  • You had a previous DVT experience
  • You had blood clots before
  • You have a history of blood clots in your family
  • You’re overweight or obese
  • You’re pregnant and up to 3 months postpartum
  • You have a catheter in a large vein

Nevertheless, chances of developing a travel-related DVT are low, even for those who are considered moderately or highly risky cases.

How to Prevent Blood Clots During Your Travel

As you already know, sitting in the same position for extended periods can reduce blood flow and increase the risk of blood clots.

Yet, they can be prevented if you improve your blood circulation while traveling by:

  • Moving your legs whenever possible . Get up and walk every hour. If there’s enough space in your seat, you can also bring one knee to your chest and hold it for 15 seconds (repeat 10 times). Additionally, avoid sitting for more than four hours once you get to your destination.
  • Drinking plenty of water and avoiding alcohol and caffeine . Thus, you’ll prevent dehydration.
  • Avoiding tight clothing and shoes , as they can interfere with blood circulation.
  • Wearing compression stockings . They promote blood circulation and you can easily find them at surgical supply stores and pharmacies.

Additionally, you should be aware of any signs of blood clots, such as:

  • Redness of the skin

Key Takeaways

As you can see, in summary, traveling after surgery is not risky if you wait the appropriate amount of time . Yet, if you’re traveling shortly after surgery, it might be a good idea to have a companion who is familiar with your situation. Besides, if you require special equipment or assistance during your flight, be sure to check with the airline before booking your trip.

Want to get tested for COVID before your next adventure? Find testing locations near you with our international directory .

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5 Important Things to Know Before You Travel After Surgery

For cancer patients recovering from surgery, there may be some anxiety when it comes to traveling. Find out when and how it’s safe to travel after surgery.

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  • Post author By THANC Foundation
  • Post date December 22, 2020
  • Categories In For Caregivers , The Patients' Cancer Journey

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For thyroid, head and neck cancer patients recovering from surgery, there may be some uncertainty when it comes to traveling. When is it safe to travel? What precautions should be taken? Read on to find out the answers to some important questions about traveling after surgery. 

Is it safe to travel after surgery?

The answer to this question may vary depending on the type of travel, the type of surgery, as well as the individual patient. Generally, after surgery, it is recommended to avoid air travel for a while. Spending long hours on a plane after surgery can increase your risk of developing a blood clot in one of the deep veins of your body (usually legs). This is known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) . This is especially true for hip and knee surgeries. That being said, if you take enough time to recover and take the proper precautions, it is generally safe to travel after surgery. Be sure to ask your doctor if you have questions about traveling after your particular procedure. 

How long should I wait to travel?

It is generally recommended that patients wait one week after thyroid surgery before traveling by air. Car and train travel, however, may be safe after only a few days. You should be able to resume driving as soon as you can move your head without pain or difficulty, as long as you are not taking prescription pain medication. 

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If I do decide to travel after surgery, what precautions should I take? 

There are several things you can do to lower your risk of developing complications, such as DVT, when traveling after surgery:

  • Move as much as possible during your trip. If you’re on a train or an airplane, stand, stretch, and walk down the aisles every one or two hours. If you’re driving, take a break every three to four hours to stretch and walk.
  • Stretch and flex your calves, neck, back, shoulders, and ankles to keep them loose. 
  • Stay hydrated and avoid caffeine and alcohol. 
  • Avoid wearing tight clothing that may impede circulation.
  • Keep any fresh scars properly covered. Traveling can expose you to more germs, so adequate wound dressings are especially important.  

Also, if you are taking any medications, remember to pack enough to keep you covered in case you experience any travel delays. If your trip is international, be sure to check with your health insurance provider to see whether you’ll be covered while out of the country, or if you’ll need to buy travel health insurance.

What should I do if I’m traveling for vacation? 

If you’re going on vacation after surgery, there are several things you should keep in mind, depending on where you’re going:

  • You should avoid swimming or visiting saunas for at least two weeks after your sutures have been removed. 
  • While on vacation, make sure you stay active, but restrict your activity somewhat until at least 2 weeks after your surgery. Some light endurance training, like walking or bicycle riding, are usually good ways to stay active soon after your surgery. However, be sure to get permission from your doctor before you engage in these activities. 
  • Keep in mind that fresh scars are more sensitive to UV rays for the first three months after surgery, so if you’re going somewhere sunny, you should keep your incision site out of direct sunlight. It is generally safe to start wearing sunscreen once your incision has closed completely. Until then, you may use a scarf for protection in direct sunlight. 
  • Avoid activities that may cause sea sickness or motion sickness. If you’re going on a cruise ship or a boat, you may want to ask your doctor about having medications on hand in case you experience either of these issues.

What if I underwent, or am currently undergoing, radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment?

It is important to isolate yourself immediately after undergoing RAI so as not to expose other people to radiation. You should wait 1–3 days before traveling by airplane or public transportation, and 2–3 days before taking a prolonged automobile trip with others. In addition, there are often radiation detectors at airports, public transit stations, and other checkpoints encountered frequently while traveling.

If you’ve had RAI at some point in your treatment process along with your surgery, you may set these off for weeks to months after treatment. When traveling, be sure to have a note from your doctor on hand to explain your situation in case you trigger any alarms.

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When Summer Travel Includes Surgery; Mayo Clinic Expert Offers Tips for a Safe Trip

Sharon Theimer

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Flying is as safe as ground travel after chest surgery, Mayo study finds

SurgicalTravel

Don’t travel alone. If you are traveling by car, you will need to have someone else to drive you in the early period after your operation; work with your physician to determine when it is safe for you to drive again. You will likely need to have someone else lift your luggage; if you are traveling by air, avail yourself of services that provide that, or send your luggage ahead.

Walk every hour during your trip. Be as mobile as possible. In the days after surgery, the body is in an inflammatory state that makes a person more predisposed to blood clots , particularly in the legs, and especially if the blood isn’t flowing as well, Dr. Cassivi says.

“If you’re in the car, stop every hour and get out and walk around the car once or twice, to keep the blood moving,” Dr. Cassivi says. “If you’re flying, there are exercises in the airline booklets or that your doctors and nurses can teach you to pump your calves if you’re stuck in a middle seat. Try to get an aisle seat so it’s easier to get up and walk.”

Just walking up and down the aisle once or twice during a long flight or once or twice every hour is useful; it helps avoid the immobility that can lead to a blood clot, Dr. Cassivi says.

Stay hydrated. Dehydration raises the risk of blood clots after surgery. Airline cabin air tends to be dry. It’s best to drink water.

“Some of the other drinks – alcoholic drinks or carbonated beverages – can be somewhat less hydrating and you don’t get the same benefit for the volume of fluid you’re taking down,” Dr. Cassivi says. “Staying hydrated, especially during airline flight, is very important.”

Wear loose-fitting clothing. Binding up is not necessarily the best situation after surgery, unless specifically recommended by your surgeon, Dr. Cassivi says. Compression stockings are an example of tight-fitting clothing a physician may order to avoid blood pooling in the leg veins.

Consider supplemental oxygen. If you’re having significant problems getting enough oxygen, it would be smart to look at using supplemental oxygen – such as a portable oxygen tank – during your trip home. Patients showing signs of oxygenation problems in the hospital are usually sent home with supplemental oxygen, whether they are traveling by ground or air, Dr. Cassivi says.

Overall, travel home by air is as safe as ground transportation after surgery, says Dr. Cassivi, who presented research on it at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery annual meeting in Toronto in April. The study found that chest surgery patients heading home by plane were, like ground travelers, at a similar low risk for complications such as pneumonia , deep vein thrombosis , pulmonary embolism , or lung problems such as pneumothorax , a collapsed lung.

“And that speaks to a very important question that’s often managed by dogma or urban myth, hospital myth. We found that although it’s not a zero risk, the risk is low, and the risk is the same between ground and air travel,” Dr. Cassivi says. “So the old rules of staying put after your surgery for two to four weeks before flying home may not apply. And I think it opens the door for patients and their surgeons to look seriously at their individual situations and govern travel decisions by how well they’re doing.”

Each year, more than a million people from all 50 states and nearly 150 countries travel to Mayo Clinic for care.

“In general, travel after surgery can be done if it’s well-organized and thought out ahead of time,” Dr. Cassivi says.

About Mayo Clinic Recognizing 150 years of serving humanity in 2014, Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit 150years.mayoclinic.org , MayoClinic.org or https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/ .

MEDIA CONTACT: Sharon Theimer, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, Email: [email protected]

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Travel after surgery

28 Aug 2023

Is it safe to fly after a health procedure?

As day surgery becomes more usual and hospital stays decrease in length, the question of when it’s safe to fly after an operation comes up more often.

Air travel is stressful in itself, and there are various environmental changes that can affect a person recovering from a surgical procedure.

Which surgical patients are most at risk from flying?

The best place to get advice on when it’s safe to fly after surgery is from the healthcare team looking after you. It’s really important to talk over your travel plans with them so you can get good advice to protect your health and keep you safe. Post-operative patients need more oxygen than usual, so the slightly reduced pressure of an aircraft cabin may cause them discomfort or serious harm during the flight.

Another issue particularly affects people who have had abdominal surgery. Gas introduced to the body as part of a laparoscopic procedure or a colonoscopy may expand by 30% during air travel, and if you’ve recently had a procedure, this can put you at risk of tearing stitches or bleeding.

Some eye ops will affect your intra-ocular pressure, and spending time in a relatively low-pressure environment like an aircraft cabin may set back your recovery.

For these reasons many surgical patients are advised to avoid flying for a certain period of time. This varies depending on the procedure, and it’s important to get expert advice when making travel plans after surgery.

Ask your travel insurer about post-surgery flights

Traveling after a surgical procedure may have an impact on your travel insurance. So discuss your plans with your insurer to make sure you have the right policy for your trip.

Is it safe to get travel vaccines after surgery?

Some experts recommend not getting vaccinated before or immediately after surgery. This is because some shots leave some people with malaise and a fever. These can be mistaken for post-surgery symptoms and may cause unnecessary alarm, or mask a serious complication.

At your travel health appointment, tell the pharmacist if you’ve got an operation booked and they can help you make a vaccination schedule that works for you. Let the healthcare team that is supporting you through your surgery know about your travel plans and your travel health needs so they can help you make decisions.

Should I get vaccinated if I’m going abroad for surgery?

M edical tourists should be aware that not all countries adhere to the same healthcare standards as the US, and re-used medical equipment can transmit diseases such as HIV and hepatitis B. Also, blood screening procedures vary around the world and if you need donor blood during your treatment, you may be at increased risk of contracting a blood-borne disease.

Of primary concern to health tourists are HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. We can offer vaccination against hepatitis B. At your travel health appointment, let the nurse know that you will be traveling for a surgical procedure.

Anyone planning medical tourism should check the Centers for Disease Control’s advice on traveling to another country for medical care.

When should I get a travel health appointment if I’m going on vacation to recover from surgery?

We would recommend every traveler makes an appointment with us six to eight weeks before departure. But many travel shots provide protection that lasts for years, so even if your trip is a long way in the future, consider scheduling your travel vaccinations well in advance. It’s quick and easy to book a travel health appointment with our online booking system.

Every individual is different, and we would not be able to give advice that is right for everyone about when it is safe to fly after surgery. So if you’ve got a surgical procedure appointment on the calendar, talk to your healthcare team about when it’s safe to fly, and factor this into your travel plans.

Our vaccination and travel health clinics will ensure that you are up-to-date on all the travel immunizations recommended by healthcare professionals. Global Travel Clinics will ensure you are protected by all the recommended shots before you leave the country. We are currently focusing on Covid-19 PCR Swab Test, Antigen test, Antibody Test   &   Travel Certificates.

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Surgery for Expats Preparation Guide

Surgeons preparing to perform surgery for expats

Surgeries fall into two categories : emergency and elective. Doctors perform emergency surgeries to correct an urgent medical condition such as a stroke. In the event of an emergency, you usually cannot choose your health care provider or facility. For elective surgery, however, such as a joint replacement, you do have more control over the operation.

Read on for a full guide to surgery for expats. Get advice on everything from finding good insurance coverage to managing the risks associated with going abroad for surgery.

Why Are Expats Getting Surgery Abroad?

Why is there a need for surgery for expats? Patients might need a procedure due to a condition they developed after moving abroad. Or they might have chosen to wait and get surgery overseas for an issue they already had. This can be for reasons such as a change in symptoms or a new time off from work policy. Some expats may have surgery in a different country if it has a better quality of healthcare than the country they reside in.

Some people who are not expats undergo surgery overseas. This may be because other countries offer better care than their home country can provide. Surgery may be much cheaper abroad and patients can save up to tens of thousands of dollars in health care costs by crossing the border for an operation. Sometimes, the surgery a patient wants isn’t available or approved in their home country, so they seek care somewhere else. In other cases, their insurer may encourage them to go abroad for surgery.

Surgeons operating on an expat

Health Insurance and Going Abroad for Surgery

Travel insurance covers unexpected medical costs, but it does not cover going abroad for surgery. An international health insurance plan will cover surgery abroad. Here are the things to know before you get your surgery.

Make Sure Your Facility and Providers are In Network

Many expat insurance plans have facility and provider networks. If you use these networks, you will receive a higher level of benefits. In addition, your insurer may pay the bill directly, so you never have to worry about payment. If you know you need surgery, contact your insurer well in advance to determine where you will have the procedure.

Traveling to a Third Country for Surgery for Expats

If the medical care in your country of residence is not of the best standard, you may wish to travel to another country for surgery. If you do, you must make sure that your plan will allow you to have surgery in this country. In some cases, your insurer may encourage you to travel to another country with better medical care for surgery and recovery.

Obtaining Prior Authorizations for Surgery for Expats

Even if your insurance company has confirmed it will pay for a portion or the entirety of your surgery, it still may request a prior authorization (or a few) before you get wheeled into the operating room. The company typically wants to know the reason you and your doctor have chosen this surgery for your condition and that you’ve already tried less costly options. Some insurance companies, for example, may like to see that you’ve tried physical therapy for back pain before choosing surgery. Be prepared to have your surgeon and associated doctors send documentation about why you need the surgery in your new country and related details about your medical history.

Along with the actual surgery, your surgeon or doctor might order imaging exams for you to check on your health before, during or after the operation. Your insurance company may also want a prior authorization for these scans. The insurance company, for example, could authorize payment of a CT exam but not an MRI exam due to the cost. Your insurer may also ask about the type of facility you’ve chosen. Some insurance companies might ask you to go to an outpatient center rather than a hospital to save money. So before consenting to any treatments, make sure you know what your international health insurance will and will not cover in the country you’ve chosen to have surgery in.

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Finding a Doctor to Perform Surgery for Expats

After you’ve got a solid international health insurance plan in place, it’s time to either find, confirm or reevaluate your surgical team and facility. If you know you need surgery but are feeling unsure of where to go, your insurance company can help you find an in-network doctor and surgery center.

Surgical Certifications

While browsing or after choosing a provider, make sure to research the person. In the United States, for example, surgeons must be certified by a national surgical board approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties . If they’re board-certified in the U.S., it means the surgeons have successfully completed an approved residency training program and have passed a rigorous specialty exam. In the U.K., the General Medical Council maintains the List of Registered Medical Practitioners . Surgeons in the medical register have met the standards laid out by the GMC. The Medical Council of Ireland maintains a similar register . German surgeons are certified not on the national level, but instead in the region (Bundesland) where they practice. Some countries don’t require their surgeons to get board certifications or uphold such rigorous standards, so research the type of health care providers you’re about to trust.

Countries such as Singapore and Canada are known for state-of-the-art facilities and surgeons with advanced degrees while others have very loose regulations. Make sure you feel comfortable with the level of training surgeons receive in the place where you will receive surgery.

Ask Your Surgeon These Questions

No matter which country you have your surgery in, during your pre-surgery consultation, ask about:

  • Previous training
  • Academic qualifications
  • Certifications and proof of the documents
  • Outcomes of patients who underwent the same procedure
  • The safety precautions taken at the operating facility

During the consultation call or initial appointment, make sure you review your full medical history with the team. It’s also important to share copies of your previous records from your doctor in your home country with the new surgeon. You should have a list of all medications you take as well.

The bottom line? You should feel confident in your surgeon’s abilities and the precautions the whole staff takes. You want to feel safe and happy with the outcome. So don’t be afraid to ask your doctor a full list of questions.

Expat recovering from surgery abroad

Risks Associated with Surgery for Expats

The country you choose to have surgery in could have great safety protocols in place and a solid track record. You could still, however, encounter some risks associated while going abroad for surgery.

Language Barriers

Before having surgery, if your care team doesn’t speak your native language, be sure to request an in-person translator. They will help you navigate the experience on the day of your procedure. This professional can also review and explain any documents the surgical team asks you to sign. It’s important to understand every step of the process no matter the language. So prepare for some assistance if you don’t speak the same language as your care team.

After surgery, health care teams typically recommend avoiding flying for a time. This is due to risk of blood clots and other complications. If you have plans to travel soon after the surgery, whether it’s for vacation or to visit home, evaluate your itinerary and talk to your doctor about your personal risks.

Care Continuity

Along with travel, if you relocate after surgery or seek care at a different place than where you had your procedure, make sure you have a coordinated post-care plan. Make sure you get all your discharge paperwork. Also get copies of your post-op labs and other tests to stay in good health after surgery is over.

You can usually have a positive experience undergoing surgery abroad if you do your background research, thoroughly review your own personal history and risks, and protect yourself financially through health insurance. If you have doubts about anything, contact your personal doctors or other health agencies to steer you in the right direction.

  • Make Your Plan to Get Healthcare Abroad
  • How Do Hospitalization Claims Work?
  • International Hospitals for Expatriates

About Amanda Hoffman

Amanda D. Hoffman has been living a slow-travel, independent-location lifestyle since 2017, exploring more than 16 countries over 5 continents — and counting. From art to history to local political and social issues, she is always eager to learn about her surroundings and make new connections. As a rare disease patient and advocate, she has unique insight and interest in healthcare cost and access while traveling.

She is a writer, strategic communications consultant and owner of ADH Communications Consulting. Her career has roots in journalism and included private sector government consulting before transitioning to support national nonprofit organizations.

Amanda holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from American University’s School of Communication in Washington, DC, including a semester abroad at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. More recently, she has completed multiple creative writing courses at Edinburgh University in Scotland — a country that keeps her coming back again and again.

When she’s not crafting her latest prose, you can find Amanda wandering through museums, catching live theatre, poring over fiction and poetry at bookstores, and soaking up the ambiance at cafes around the world.

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Medical Travel Shield

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Medical Travel Insurance for Elective Surgery Abroad

If you have made the decision to travel abroad to undergo elective surgery, Medical Travel Shield is the specialist single trip travel insurance designed for you.

Our travel insurance for elective surgery will provide you with everything that you would expect from standard travel insurance including; lost or stolen items, accidental illness or injury and cancellations or curtailments outside of your control.

What makes Medical Travel Shield elective surgery travel insurance different?

As well as standard cover, we provide additional benefits tailored for you as a patient within the same policy.

Those tailored benefits being:

Costs towards travel, accommodation and daily living expenses if you have to stay at your destination longer than the normal recovery period on medical grounds.

Medical and additional expenses up to £2 million, including repatriation, in the event of a life threatening complication occurring from your planned procedure/treatment.

If within 12 months of returning home, you suffer a medical complication relating to the original treatment and a qualified medical practitioner in the UK confirms that you should return to your original destination, you can claim costs towards return travel, accommodation and daily living expenses. Elective procedures can include:

Bariatric/Gastric procedures

Orthopedic procedures

Total joint replacements

Cataract procedures

Bladder fulguration Elective procedures not covered include:

Oncology/Cancer treatments

Cardiac procedures

Organ transplants/donations

Stem cell treatments We offer travel insurance for elective surgery abroad in Thailand, Lithuania, Turkey and around the world. If there is anything that you do not understand about our travel insurance for elective surgery abroad or if you have any questions about our cover, please contact us: 0203 409 1236 [email protected] For full terms, conditions and exclusions please see the policy wording

June 1, 2020

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What's the Best Travel Insurance for Pre-Existing Medical Conditions?

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You may think that a pre-existing condition means anything you’re being treated for at the time you purchase your travel insurance. The definition is actually broader than that. Allianz Global Assistance defines a pre-existing medical condition as:

An injury, illness, or medical condition that, within the 120 days prior to and including the purchase date of your policy:

  • Caused a person to seek medical examination, diagnosis, care, or treatment by a doctor;
  • Presented symptoms; or
  • Required a person to take medication prescribed by a doctor (unless the condition or symptoms are controlled by that prescription, and the prescription has not changed).

It’s important to know that the illness, injury, or medical condition does not need to be formally diagnosed in order to be considered a pre-existing medical condition.

Let’s consider a few scenarios:

  • Sudden, debilitating pain in an arthritic knee forces you to cancel your planned trekking tour of Iceland. Because you consulted your doctor about knee twinges three months ago, it’s considered a pre-existing condition.
  • While sightseeing in Shanghai, you suffer a mild heart attack. Because you were diagnosed with coronary heart disease three weeks before purchasing travel insurance, this is considered a pre-existing condition.
  • You were diagnosed with lupus many years ago, but it’s been in remission. You feel pretty good when you book your cruise to Bermuda, except for some fatigue and a rash. Then the Caribbean sun triggers a serious lupus flare, sending you to the hospital. Because you had symptoms when you booked your trip, this is considered a pre-existing condition.

2. Travel insurance requirements for covering pre-existing medical conditions 

If you’re dealing with a pre-existing medical condition, that does not mean you can’t get travel insurance, or that you shouldn’t travel at all. You just have to read the insurance policy documents very carefully to make sure you meet all the requirements. As Conde Nast Traveler puts it , “it’s best not to make assumptions. Returning home in pain is bad enough. Don’t intensify it by unnecessarily paying thousands of dollars you could use on your next trip.”

Certain Allianz Global Assistance plans can include pre-existing medical condition coverage as long as you:

  • Your policy was purchased within the time frame specified in your plan (usually 14 days of the date of the first trip payment or deposit.) In other words, don’t dawdle! Buy travel insurance as soon as you book your trip, so you don’t forget.
  • Are a U.S. resident.
  • Make sure you’re medically able to travel on the day you purchase the plan. Don’t assume you’re cleared to travel just because you feel OK that day. If you’re living with a chronic condition, or if you’ve recently had surgery or cancer treatment, it’s wise to get written approval to travel from your doctor.
  • On the policy purchase date, insure the full non-refundable cost of your trip with Allianz Global Assistance — including trip arrangements that will become non-refundable or subject to cancellation penalties between the policy purchase date and the departure date. Make sure you include your airfare, hotel reservations, tour bookings and any other nonrefundable costs when you’re insuring your trip. If you incur additional non-refundable trip expenses after you purchase your policy, you must insure them with us within 14 days of their purchase. If you do not, those expenses will still be subject to the pre-existing medical condition exclusion.

3. What’s excluded from travel insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions

While most pre-existing conditions are covered by Allianz Global Assistance travel insurance, there are a few exceptions. Mental and nervous health disorders and normal pregnancy aren’t covered, for instance. If you want to make sure your particular condition is covered, speak with an insurance specialist before you buy.

Also, check the cap on trip costs. For the OneTrip Prime Plan , for instance, the total cost of your trip must be no more than $50,000 per person.

Why Allianz Global Assistance offers the best travel insurance for pre-existing medical conditions 

If you have any kind of chronic health problem, travel insurance can save your vacation — or even your life. The best travel insurance for pre-existing conditions is the OneTrip Prime Plan from Allianz Global Assistance, which includes abundant coverage for covered emergency medical expenses overseas (up to $50,000). You also get emergency medical transportation benefits up to $500,000 to travel to the nearest appropriate medical facility or to return home. This is huge, especially if you suffer from a serious condition that might require advanced treatment. The OneTrip Premier Plan doubles these amounts.

Travel insurance from Allianz Global Assistance also can include trip cancellation and interruption benefits to reimburse you for non-refundable trip payments, in case you have to cancel your travel because of your covered pre-existing medical condition or another covered reason. You also get personalized, one-on-one help in emergencies from our hotline staff. Every day they help travelers who are suffering medical emergencies, lost documents, travel delays and other crises, all around the globe. But, our hotline experts say, the toughest thing they deal with is having to tell a customer who’s seriously ill that their pre-existing medical condition's not covered. That’s why it’s so important to follow the rules and meet the requirements.

Have questions about how to choose the best travel insurance for your covered pre-existing medical condition? Call our travel insurance advisers anytime at 1-866-884-3556. Travel happy!

Related Articles

  • Trip Cancellation Insurance: Covered Reasons Explained
  • When Does Travel Insurance Cover Existing Medical Conditions?
  • Travel Insurance 101: Covered Illnesses

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Traveling Timeline After Heart Surgery

By Adam Pick on November 25, 2013

Travel during the holiday season is expected to increase this year, up from the 93.3 million travelers who ventured at least 50 miles away from home this time last year, according to AAA. Although many medical professionals recommend avoiding traveling during recovery, it seems practically unavoidable during this family-centered season. However, just because you might be going against this advice, it doesn’t mean you should throw all caution to the wind. These tips break down some important considerations for traveling after heart surgery.

Traveling After Cardiac Surgery

The National Health Service recommends checking with your airline BEFORE flying, since companies have varying regulations on post-surgery travelers. However, the Civilian Aviation Authority says that 10 to 14 days is sufficient after chest surgery or a coronary artery bypass graft. After any heart operation, patients should remain moderately active to keep the heart pumping. Avoid tight clothing to prevent circulation inhibition as well.

During your early recovery, you’ll want to maintain only moderate activity at your destination. If your destination is the Midwest, consider staying at Wisconsin Dells resorts to take advantage of spas and other relaxation-enhancing amenities. In warmer weather conditions, swimming can also be a fun, light activity to stay active and cool.

Three months

At this point, you may be close to a full recovery but not quite there yet. (Hopefully, you will have taken my advice and attended a great cardiac rehab program.) Mostly, you’ll want to make sure to avoid overworking your heart. Get a full examination — BEFORE your trip — so your doctor can alert you of specific things to look out for. Taking medication like Dramamine isn’t recommended for flying, since you may sleep in a circulation-cutting position for an extended period of time. If you get nervous on airplanes or other forms of transportation, consider anti-anxiety medication instead, so you can keep your heart rate low without compromising your circulation.

Since being active can be difficult in an airplane, request to sit either in the very front or very back of the plane, so you can stretch your legs as often as possible. In the meantime, drink plenty of water, since the low humidity on planes increases the risk of dehydration.

Traveling itself may only come with minor considerations at this stage, such as staying hydrated and active. However, you’ll want to keep a close eye on your diet once you reach your destination. Especially during the holiday season, many people indulge in sugar-filled, high-fat foods. The American Heart Association recommends having less than 7 percent of saturated fat out of your total daily calories. Trans fats should comprise less than 1 percent of your daily intake, while cholesterol should never exceed 300 mg. The best way to reduce your saturated and trans fats intake is to reduce the amount of butter or margarine added to your food when cooking. Trim fat off of your meat or choose lean meats with under 10 percent fat to further cut back.

Right about this time… I traveled to Hawaii with Robyn, my wife, to celebrate my recovery. It was an amazing trip (see picture below).

travel after surgery insurance

At 10 months post-op, I went on a two-week business trip through five cities in Europe. During the trip, I had some chest pain — from the lifting and the moving of luggage in awkward positions — so I carried a bottle of Ibuprofen with me at all times to help ease the discomfort.

At the one year mark, many patients have reached full recovery status. Still, it’s always important to continue taking precautions when traveling. Make sure your travel insurance is up to date, since recent surgeries can often raise rates or lead to a higher copay. Access to medical care is highly important when you’re away from home, so feel free to check in with a doctor if anything feels abnormal.

I hope this timeline helps you plan your travel after heart surgery.

Keep on tickin! Adam

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Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick, Heart Valve Patient Advocate

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

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6 Travel Tips After Shoulder Surgery

December 18, 2023 by Dr. G. Brian Holloway

The end of the year is a popular time for elective surgery because people are more likely to have met their maximum out of pocket insurance expenses late in the year, meaning they can save some money by getting the procedure in December compared to January or February. The winter months are also a popular time for people to head south to a more tropical location to escape the colder weather, meaning we oftentimes field questions from patients wondering how a shoulder procedure could affect their travel plans.

While it’s important to get individualized advice from your treating surgeon based on your individual procedure, we’re going to use today’s blog to share some travel tips if you plan to travel by car or plane a short while after your shoulder operation is performed.

Traveling After Shoulder Surgery

If you expect to undergo major shoulder surgery at the end of the year, our recommendation is that you postpone any significant travel for at least 6-8 weeks, but we understand it’s not always as easy as opting not to book a vacation. Perhaps you have a destination wedding on the calendar or a family emergency requires you to do some significant travel shortly after your procedure. Again, you’ll want to seek out individualized advice from the surgeon who performed your operation, but odds are their advice will mimic some of the tips we share below:

  • Pick Your Seat – If you’ll be traveling by airplane, we recommend that you take a closer look at the seating chart and pick a seat that will be most comfortable given your recent surgery. A middle seat will be more uncomfortable than usual, and while an aisle seat may offer more room, your shoulder is more exposed to passengers and the flight crew as they walk by. We recommend picking a window seat with the window on the same side as your surgically repaired shoulder, and bonus points if you can find a seat that has an open middle seat next to it.
  • Pack Light And Smart – Pack light so that you’re not trying to carry a heavy bag with one good shoulder. Also consider packing in a suitcase or travel bag that has wheels so that you can roll the item instead of carrying it with your good arm. If there are items that you can buy or borrow at your destination, consider leaving these items at home to limit the weight of your bag.
  • Travel With A Companion – Consider traveling with a companion who is aware of your shoulder restrictions and who is willing to help as needed. This is especially true if you are driving to your destination and you have driving restrictions following your procedure.
  • Confirm Travel Is Safe – While most of the focus is on how uncomfortable it can be to travel after shoulder surgery, there’s also a potential safety issue at play. Blood clot formation is more common following a surgical procedure, and this could mean that the pressurized cabin of an airplane isn’t the safest environment for you. Before you discuss how to travel after surgery, be sure that it is safe for you to travel after surgery.
  • Don’t Let Travel Disrupt Your Rehab – Really make it a point to continue with your rehab exercises during your travels. Whether that means waking up a little earlier to do your exercises before the day begins or connecting with your physical therapist for a virtual PT session, don’t let travel cause a setback for your rehab. Your rehab schedule needs to remain the same even if you’re traveling.
  • Medication Management – Make sure that you have enough medication to get you through your travels without having to go to a pharmacy in a different state or country. Call your doctor and see if they can re-up your prescription before you travel, and be sure your meds make it in your travel bag before you go!

If you keep these tips in mind, you try to avoid extended travel for 6-8 weeks after shoulder replacement surgery and you have an open and honest conversation with your surgeon to get travel clearance, we believe you can make travel less uncomfortable after your surgical procedure. For more tips, or if you need help overcoming a shoulder issue, reach out to Dr. Holloway and his team today at (865) 410-7887.

Hip or Knee Replacement

Understanding what you can and can't do after surgery.

Tommy Lloyd

Tommy has over 15 years experience within the insurance industry, and his primary focus is helping travellers find the right cover for their medical conditions.

Recently had a hip or knee replacement?

Having replacement hip or knee surgery shouldn’t stop you from going back to living your normal life.

This includes all the things you’d usually do in your day-to-day routine, from just walking, climbing the stairs and being able to drive, to the more advanced and exciting stuff.

A hip or knee replacement shouldn’t put you off booking holidays and travelling. But, regardless of what you plan to do post-surgery, you should always consult your doctor and listen to their advice before you go back to your usual active routine that you had before surgery.

Sometimes you’ll need to make some tweaks to your daily routine. A knee or hip replacement can be a complex operation, so you need to give your body a fair amount to time to make a sufficient recovery.

Travelling after a hip replacement

Travelling after a hip replacement and still enjoying your holiday is perfectly possible.

However, there are a few things that you need to consider. This includes booking mobility assistance if required. Long walks through airport terminal buildings can add strain to your body, so it’s a good idea to consider wheelchair rental or maybe assistance boarding an aircraft if needed.

You could also let your airline know that you’ve just had surgery. This way they may be able to make the aircraft environment more comfortable for you with pillows or even a change in seating.

When can you travel after a hip replacement?

Again, as recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons, travelling is to be avoided for at least three weeks following surgery.

Getting in or out of a car, or sitting for long periods of time is potentially damaging for soft body recovery tissues. Post-surgery therapy usually includes a strict daily routine that shouldn’t be interfered with in the first few weeks. So it’s important to rest up and allow yourself to recover before thinking about any travel plans.

When can you fly after a hip replacement?

The NHS advises that you should wait three months before flying after undergoing hip replacement surgery.

Remember that long-haul air travel can especially put you at a higher risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) if you’ve had a recent hip replacement. The most advisable thing to do is speak to your doctor. They can recommend different things to help lessen the risk, such as gentle leg exercises, having a short walk on the aircraft, and even wearing compression stockings on the flight.

Driving after a hip replacement

The experts at the  Royal College of Surgeons  suggest that driving after hip replacement surgery should be avoided for the first six weeks. They also recommend that even travelling as a passenger should be avoided for three weeks.

How do I check if I’m ready to drive? Well, a clear indicator is practising applying pressure on the foot pedals when in a stationary position with the engine switched off. Just make sure you do this before you set off on your travels!

If you feel some pain instantly, or even feel sore for a few hours afterwards, then it’s recommended that you avoid driving and continue resting to let your body to make a full recovery. It can be dangerous for yourself and for others if you drive without feeling physically comfortable.

You should let your insurer know that you have undergone surgery. It’s important to check your policy as some insurers won’t insure you for a certain number of weeks post-surgery.

Sport and exercise after a hip replacement

If you want to enjoy any outdoor activities whilst on holiday (such as canoeing or hiking) these can all be managed the same way as before – but remember you should get advice from your doctor or physiotherapist, especially if you have had the operation recently.

Arthritis Research UK  suggests that regular exercise is really important when it comes to lessening the risk of developing arthritis in later life. Having a large operation like a hip replacement shouldn’t leave you bed bound long-term, nor should it discourage you from exercising regularly.

They also say that it is perfectly fine to walk and swim, but remember that cycling should be avoided until around 12 weeks post-operation. Running on hard surfaces like the road is discouraged, as it can have negative long-term effects. So, sports that involve sudden turns or impacts like squash or tennis are not ideal for those who have had a hip replacement. But we always advise consulting your physiotherapist for more in-depth guidance on what should and shouldn’t do.

Walking after a hip replacement

Walking after hip replacement surgery is a process in itself. If you have an enhanced recovery programme then you can be up and walking within hours of having surgery, but this varies from person to person and usually depends on how well you feel. However, when you first start walking you should expect to feel a certain degree of pain and discomfort.

The NHS suggests that your general fitness and well-being, including your ability to stand up and walk to a certain extent, plays a part in how soon you can be discharged from hospital.

When you’re discharged and recovering at home, it’s important to take each day at a time and build yourself up in terms of walking short distances.

If you are a keen hiker, or someone who regularly walks longer distances whilst on holiday, you should get some advice from your physiotherapist on the best way to get back on those hills, everyone is different so it’s best to talk to them to see which is the best way for you to recover. If walking or hiking is a part of your travel plans, remember that you shouldn’t fly until at least three months post-surgery. But the good news is that this is a great time to enable yourself to recover before enhancing your own mobility.

Climbing the stairs after hip replacement surgery

As with walking, climbing the stairs after hip replacement surgery is a process. Once you can walk confidently and have been discharged from hospital – you should be able to climb stairs.

During recovery, the NHS will provide you with crutches (or another form of walking aid if that’s what you need), so any physiotherapy programme will involve the use of a walking aid in terms of navigating you back to a certain level of mobility.

The walking aid will be crucial in helping you get up and down flights of stairs. To climb stairs, you need to lead with your stronger leg and to come downstairs you should lead with your weaker leg – on the side where the hip has been replaced. The walking aid should always be positioned on the opposite side of your repaired hip.

Exercise after a hip replacement

Most surgeons completely discourage jogging or running on hard surfaces according to Arthritis Research UK. The long-term effects of running or jogging after hip replacement surgery can be damaging to the joint because of the sustained impact.

If you do wish to do short gentle runs for exercise then you still can, but remember that running will speed up the level of wear of tear a lot more than lower impact activities.

Like cycling, swimming after hip replacement surgery is generally seen as a great form of exercise for people with limited mobility in general. As opposed to running or jogging on hard surfaces, swimming and cycling are low-impact and gentle forms of exercise that people of all ages can enjoy. However, Arthritis Research UK suggests that swimming breaststroke can be detrimental to those who have had knee replacements in particular. They also suggest that you should not attempt to cycle until 12 weeks after your hip operation. If you are a keen cyclist, it may be more advisable to build up both your mobility and confidence on a static exercise bike rather than going out on the roads straight away.

Skiing after a hip replacement

Skiing after hip replacement surgery is unfortunately not recommended. This is due to the high-impact nature of this activity on joints and also the high risk of injury whilst on ski slopes.

Of course, you can ski at your own risk once you have made a full recovery, however damage to the actual replacement itself whilst skiing can be complicated – and many insurers may not be able to provide you with cover if you intend on going on an overseas ski trip having undergone hip replacement surgery.

What can’t you do after a hip replacement?

It’s advised that you do not ignore the advice of your surgeon and/or physiotherapist.

The  NHS states  that in order to look after your new hip in the best possible way you must:

  • Avoid bending your hip at a right angle (90°) where possible.
  • Avoid any activities that require a twisting motion.
  • Avoid swivelling on the balls of your feet.
  • Avoid laying on the side of the wound or applying any sort of pressure to it in the hours and days following surgery.
  • Avoid crossing your legs over one another.
  • Avoid low chairs and toilet seats (you can get raised toilet seats courtesy of the NHS).
  • Avoid activity in the aftermath of surgery and avoid high-impact sports altogether.

Hip replacement surgery recovery time for partaking in different activities varies – but the table below summarises this in a simpler format for you.

Sport and exercise after a knee replacement

Knee replacement surgery is designed to improve your quality of life, and therefore it should never prevent you from doing any sporting and exercise activities you would have done prior to surgery.

In fact, sport and exercise is actually recommended after a knee replacement. The NHS states that you should be able to stop using your walking aid and resume normal leisure activities six weeks after surgery (depending on how well you’ve recovered).

Arthritis Research UK has a guide on certain  exercises you can do to help with your knee replacement  in the meantime. This includes knee bending exercises to do for 10 minutes 6-8 times a day to help straighten and strengthen the knee joint.

Running or jogging on hard surfaces isn’t advised – for similar reasons as to why running or jogging with a replacement hip is not recommended.

Swimming or cycling are much more advisable, due to the low-impact nature of these types of exercises. Again though, you should check with your physio as certain types of swimming (mainly breaststroke in particular) are to be avoided for those with a knee replacement, where possible.

Skiing after a knee replacement

As with running and jogging, skiing is generally not recommended for those who have had knee replacement surgery – or any other form of joint replacement for that matter!

Joint injuries are commonplace on ski slopes – and you are at risk of doing your new replacement knee serious damage if you do start skiing again.

Again, you can start skiing at your own risk – however, some insurers may not be able to provide you with sufficient level of winter sports travel insurance cover for a ski trip once you declare that fact that you have had a knee replacement.

Do I need to tell you about my hip or knee surgery when getting travel insurance cover?

When getting a quote with us we’ll ask a few short questions about your health history, including whether you visited a medical professional, or hospital within the last 2 years, which would include to undergo any surgeries.  

Whilst you don’t need to tell us about the surgery itself, you would need to tell us about the health condition which resulted in you needing the hip or knee surgery. We may ask a few follow up questions about your treatment just so we can really understand your circumstances and get a good picture of your overall health.

We’ll then show your quotes from travel insurance providers which will include cover for any health conditions you’ve told us about – that way – if your condition flares up before you go away, of causes you trouble whilst you are on holiday, you’ll be protected.

Not had your surgery yet? That’s ok too – just add the health condition to your policy – you’ll just need to let your travel insurance provider know if your condition changes or worsens leading up to your surgery.

You can find out more about how to tell us about your health condition in this guide here. 

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  • Frequent and spontaneous travelers will likely benefit from annual travel insurance policies.
  • Your credit card may come with some travel protections, but it may not be enough.
  • When choosing a policy, look at what it covers, not just what's cheapest.

Insider Today

Summer is just a few months away — and if you're planning a vacation this year, the last thing you want is an unexpected event to derail your plans (and cost you hundreds).

Flights get delayed or canceled constantly. Luggage disappears into the ether. Medical emergencies occur in remote destinations. Yet many jetsetters simply cross their fingers and hope for the best rather than prepare for the worst.

That's why, as a financial planner, I believe it's crucial to consider protecting your trips with the right insurance coverage. One option often overlooked, particularly by frequent travelers, is annual travel insurance .

Annual travel insurance covers all your trips within 365 days. Unlike stand-alone travel insurance, which only covers you for a specific trip, an annual policy covers any trips you take within the year.

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For the occasional traveler who takes one or two trips a year, single-trip policies will probably work for you. But if you fall into any of these buckets, you may want to consider an annual policy:

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Start by reviewing your travel plans this year — and your risk tolerance. Calculate how much buying individual travel insurance policies would cost you over the next year and compare it to the price of an annual plan.

Don't just focus on the premium — carefully evaluate coverage limits, exclusions, and deductibles to ensure you have enough protection for your needs.

An annual policy gives you the flexibility to take spontaneous trips without the hassle of obtaining last-minute insurance. More importantly, it provides peace of mind, knowing that you're covered for a wide range of travel disruptions and emergencies.

As the busy summer travel season ramps up, definitely explore protecting your trips with insurance, especially if you're jetting off internationally. Spending hours on the phone trying to rebook canceled flights or worrying about affording an overseas medical emergency is no way to vacation.

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MLB Trade Rumors

Shane Bieber To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By Mark Polishuk | April 6, 2024 at 10:56pm CDT

Guardians ace Shane Bieber will soon be undergoing a Tommy John surgery after experiencing elbow pain in each of his last two starts, the team announced.  Bieber will miss the rest of the 2024 season and roughly half of the 2025 season, as per the usual recovery timeline for TJ procedures.  As initially reported by MLB.com’s Mandy Bell , right-hander Peter Strzelecki has been called to take Bieber’s roster spot, now that the Guards have officially placed Bieber on the 15-day injured list.  (He’ll inevitably be moved to the 60-day IL when Cleveland next needs to open a 40-man roster spot.)

The devastating news comes on the heels of an injury-shortened 2023 campaign for the right-hander, as Bieber was limited to 128 innings while missing about two and a half months due to elbow inflammation.  He returned from the 60-day injured list to make two starts in late September, which seemingly indicated that the problem was behind him, and that Bieber could now look forward to a more normal offseason and ramp-up routine.  However, as the Guardians’ statement indicates, Bieber had some discomfort in his elbow following his first start this year, and the problem continued through his next outing.

Certainly nothing appeared to be amiss in terms of results, given that Bieber looked completely dominant in tossing 12 shutout innings and recording 20 strikeouts (against just one walk and 10 hits allowed) over his two starts.  This will now unfortunately mark the last we’ll see of Bieber on a big league mound for the next 13-15 months, and we might have already seen his final outing in a Cleveland uniform since he is a free agent this winter.

It counted as something of a surprise to see Bieber even still with the Guardians on Opening Day, given how it was widely assumed that the right-hander would be traded in advance of his walk year.  The Guards have routinely traded star players within 12-18 months of free agency since the organization is rarely ( Jose Ramirez notwithstanding) willing to pay the money necessary to sign such prominent names to contract extensions.  As frustrating as this process has been for Cleveland fans, the front office’s track record in these trades has been pretty successful, and some of the players gained in those deals have helped the Guardians to remain competitive despite low payrolls.

If it wasn’t for his elbow issue last season, it is quite possible the Guards might’ve dealt Bieber at the last trade deadline.  His health status surely impacted his trade value this past winter, as despite reports linking the Angels, Dodgers, Reds, Yankees, and Cubs to Bieber’s market, Cleveland wasn’t able to work out a deal with any of these (and undoubtedly many other) interested suitors.  It’s easy to say now in the wake of Bieber’s Tommy John surgery that the Guardians should’ve moved him for whatever half-decent offer they received, though we don’t know what offers were on the table, and naturally the Guards weren’t keen on selling low on such a valuable trade asset.

There’s also the value of what Bieber brought to Cleveland’s own rotation, as the Guardians were hit with a lot of injuries to notable starters in 2023.  The team’s outstanding pitching development pipeline helped cover this problem in impressive fashion with the emergence of Gavin Williams , Tanner Bibee , and Logan Allen , and going into this season, the idea of that young trio teaming with Bieber and the returning Triston McKenzie seemed like a promising step in the Guards’ plans to return to contention.  However, Williams started the season on the 15-day IL due to elbow discomfort, and both Ben Lively and Xzavion Curry are also on the IL since a virus set the two pitchers back during Spring Training.

Veteran Carlos Carrasco has already stepped into the rotation in Williams’ place, and the Guardians will now have to hope for a quick recovery from either Lively or Curry with Bieber gone for the season.  Jaime Barria is also a candidate to pick up starts in the short term, or Hunter Gaddis or Tyler Beede could be stretched out from their current relief roles, or used in a piggyback/bulk starter capacity.

A fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft, Bieber became the latest star product of the Cleveland pitching factory when he made his MLB debut in 2018, and then finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2019.  That breakout year led to Bieber winning the Cy during the shortened 2020 season, when he posted a 1.63 ERA over 77 1/3 innings.  While the season’s abbreviated nature carries an obvious asterisk, it was just the 13th time in MLB history that a pitcher led the entire league in ERA, wins (eight), and strikeouts (122) in the same year.

Bieber hasn’t since returned to those heights, though he still has a 3.13 ERA in 436 2/3 innings from 2021-24, and he was an All-Star in 2021 and a seventh-place finisher in Cy Young Award voting in 2022.  With this success came increasingly larger paydays throughout Bieber’s arbitration-eligible years, culminating in the arb-avoiding $13.125MM deal he signed for 2024.  A big bounce-back season would’ve therefore set him up quite nicely for a pricey free agent contract in the 2024-25 offseason, especially if he could’ve avoided a qualifying offer via a midseason trade from the Guardians.

As it stands now, Bieber might have to wait quite some time to score a hefty multi-year commitment.  Even if he pitches well after returning partway through the 2025 season, clubs might want to see a larger sample size of good health and good results before guaranteeing a nine-figure salary.  Assuming then that Bieber pitched well and stays healthy throughout 2026, he might then have a safer track record….but teams could then be wary of Bieber’s age, since 2027 would be his age-32 season.

Under the circumstances, there is a chance the Guardians could yet retain Bieber into 2025, as unlikely as this scenario would’ve seemed even a few days ago.  Cleveland might look to extend Bieber through the 2025 campaign or even both the 2025-26 seasons, on a low salary for 2025 and then the rest of the money backloaded into 2026.  We’ve seen such contractual models used for other pitchers recovering from lengthy injury rehabs, most recently Brandon Woodruff ’s two-year, $17.5MM deal to re-sign with the Brewers less than two months ago.  If Bieber and the Guards had interest in such an arrangement, Bieber could complete his entire rehab in a familiar environment, and the Guardians could still get some benefit from having Bieber for part of 2025 and perhaps 2026.

254 Comments

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This is getting TRAGIC!!!

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Maybe it’s the pitch clock. Less time for the arm to recover between pitches.

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That and a new found obsession with velo/spin rates, all while not being allowed to use the ‘sticky stuff’.

It’s a perfect storm of factors directly affecting SP’s,

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Terrier – Right you are.

And Bieber, like many, are still in their 20’s. Those who think only pitchers over 30 are TJS candidates are delusional, if not ageists.

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A big reason for hive AAV, shorter term deals or even a different type of deal where the contract gets extended but the player gets half pay while on long term IL. If the procedure has a a 10 – 15 month average recovery time, extend by one year. If a player makes $30m, he gets $15m while rehabbing, etc. Tweak it to improve on the idea.

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Fever Pitch… I don’t think anyone anywhere thinks that only pitchers over 30 are TJS candidates. Not only 20-somethings, but college and high school kids have been getting TJ for decades. Every teams’ minor league system currently has 10 – 20 pitchers recovering from TJ at any given time.

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@Terrier1980 like in sports we have to relearn the same lessons over and over and what used to be common sense basics now is somehow new. In the 90s and 2000s I remember all the discussion around how starters have to know when to throw that full effort pitch in the right moments, but lay off full effort for most of the game. You also heard how a splitter was just asking for a dead arm and how if you throw a curve a certain way before your arm develops enough that can kill your arm long term. Now we have guys in high school throwing 97 mph playing a full season then the summer circuit all full effort. No wonder guys don’t last.

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The union will never agree to half-pay while on the long-term IL.

Agree? Terms in the CBA are negotiated and if owners stop giving long deals to pitchers, is it collusion? If not, work something out. This is like a Workers’ Compensation situation where the worker gets injured on the job (or even off the field if it didn’t violate the terms of the contract) yet they get full pay and years get used up so if they recover, they can potentially get another deal. By giving the club the option to extend the deal (not explained originally as an option), the player gets the added year to work out the kinks and the team gets immediate savings to invest in a replacement player.

geoff – Agreed. I mentioned the age thing only because there are many people here who DO constantly say pitcher-so-and-so is an injury risk because they are over 30. And it’s annoying.

Black – Superb post! More than anything it’s the max effort because of the expanded bullpens and short outings. Reducing the pitcher limit on rosters to 11 or 12 would definitely help, which MLB has talked about. They’ve also talked about requiring pitchers to stay with the MLB club for a minimum number of days whenever they are called up, which is another solid idea.

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You just said many others are in their 20’s which is why nobody thinks only pitchers in their 30’s get it

Look at the guy who just officially retired. Strasburg. Needed it his rookie season

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Suit: I said the same thing when they reduced the time to 18 seconds.

Here’s a question for Manfred: Is the brevity of the game worth the best pitchers in the game taking years off due to injury? My opinion – no.

If the answer is in fact no, why not try to increase it to 25 seconds like the players initially recommended and see if it cuts down on the problem. If it works, we know what the problem was. If it doesn’t, plan from that point forward.

Either way, this isn’t good for the game.

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Manfred, who no doubt has never thrown a baseball faster than 40, if ever, makes these ridiculous rules to “speed up the game” without considering the ramifications. I’d love to see a former player as commissioner, not a corporate suit.

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I think it’s a combination of velo and the pitch clock. Pitchers used to work at a similar pace as the pitch clock requires and didn’t have the problems they do now when they were pitching slower.

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If the goal is to increase action, perhaps injuring more pitchers is all part of the scheme!!

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Manfreds #1 job is to make money and increase the value of the franchises and the game..hes done that job amazingly well which is why the owners love him . They could care less fans hate him..thats part of his job..ie taking bullets for them. which former player can do that job? Dont ever forget the owners look at this more as a business than a game..always have always will. Now with all the young talent flooding in they could care less if they lose a few more to injury..since there is always the next hot prospect to come along and fill the spot so long as the money keeps rolling in which it very much is.

Clip – Sorry I’ll say it again, the numbers don’t support the Pitch Clock Theory. It’s the throwing at max velocity and obsession with spin rates that are the leading contributors to TJS.

2023 – 8 2022 – 10 2021 – 17 2020 – 15 2019 – 9 2018 – 30 2017 – 22

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_players_who…

Fever Pitch Guy, we don’t need your so-called facts. We already figured out it’s the pitch clock. thanks tho

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mlb.com/news/pitch-timer-effect-on-mlb-injuries

There is no correlation yet between pitch clock and injuries. It may turn out to a correlation, or even causation, but that won’t be known for years.

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If they could care *less,* that means they do care, at least a little.

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The obsession with pitch counts, the radar gun, and babying pitchers is more of a factor than a pitch clock. Still, I don’t know why they reduced it, it was fine as is since you saw a noticeable reduction in game times, which was apparently the goal.

I have said it before, people spend three hours watching the No Fun League, the most popular sport. Manfred was looking in the wrong place as to the problems with the game. But his large market masters won’t allow him to tackle the real problem, which is the revenue inequities mainly from the local TV deals and the RSN fiasco.

They have lost fans in flyover country for years they will most likely never get back. Young people are not playing the game and fewer watching it. The average baseball fan is 50. Bad signs all around for the future of the game.

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I believe this list may need some additions due to similar surgeries that weren’t specifically called TJ, but had pretty much the same process. I believe Story and Harper had stories like these.

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Manfred’s job, like every commissioner in every major sport is making money for the owners, and to guide their respective franchises through turbulent times with the players In my opinion, every respective commissioner’s job should be held by a former player of that specific sport Manfred doesn’t have the player’s best interest at heart and shouldn’t be in his position

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But it’s not the pitch clock

Personally, I appreciate Fever Pitch Guy’s observation so please don’t speak for me when you claim that “ we don’t need your so-called-facts

Harper was listed, but they haven’t updated it for this year yet. In the past week Eury Perez and Shane Bieber both go it

Noah Song too for those who know the Red Sox farm system

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Uh, There are other injuries than TJ.

FPG: While I understand what you’re saying, I think isolating the potential results of the pitch clock on pitching arms to only TJS is a mistake. I think we should be looking at arm/shoulder injuries in total, including those that don’t necessarily result in surgeries. But, correlation doesn’t necessarily mean causation either.

Either way, Baseball Prospectus had a good article, which references another good article on arm injuries.

MLB found no correlation, but are they a trustworthy source of information at this point? I mean, look at the entire baseball construction debacle.

I think there is great potential when combining high-stress actions under increasing fatigue to cause injuries.

Well, those are facts, but isolated ones. Have you researched it at all because pitching injuries are actually worse than ever.

It may be debatable as to why, but to dismiss a legitimate theory outright seems….less factually considerate than the alternative.

Plus, I never implied it was the sole cause, but that there is a correlation, imo.

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Fever, how dare you support an argument with actual data in this forum.

Here’s some date for you:

baseballprospectus.com/news/article/88821/did-the-…

But I do appreciate FPG’s response. It’s intellectual and data driven, unlike many others’ comments that simply opine critically.

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Yep. Nerds represent! The correct expression is they COULDN’T care less.

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Clip, not only does correlation not mean causation, causation is impossible to prove with out an experiment. This is an observational study right now. An experiment would be essentially impossible so we are never going to know the effect of the pitch clock. I think the question would be how long it takes the body to re-oxygenate after maximum effort. At least that’s the best I can come up with. That could totally be done as an experiment or at least attempted. I actually think there are a whole host of factors at play and their effect would vary from person to person. The problem is often people trying to do something that is beyond their ability for the mere reason that someone else was able to do it. I’m sure someone’s 16 year old could learn calculus. But the number of parents who think that their 16 year could also do it is staggering. It’s prevalent in academics, arts and athletics. A false sense of ability that drives people to force themselves upon some level of accomplishment that they have no business even attempting to attain. Like me posting sensible things on this site.

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@Fever is that list just TJS or does it include other related surgeries? Many pitchers are now undergoing an internal brace procedure that I believe only recently is being used as an alternative to TJS.

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Doesnt it also include certain pitches mixed with delivery that have an impact?

deep – Thank you, I needed that!

Kab – Thank you, great link.

“If you throw faster, it’s more torque on your elbow.”

It always amazes me when some people don’t understand that very basic concept.

Fenway – Agreed, not sure if there’s an all-inclusive list out there. They may need to start grouping TJS with Internal Brace, which is what Giolito had.

TheMan – Thank you, I appreciate it.

I took his comment as humor, benefit of the doubt.

FPG – docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gQujXQQGOVNaiuwSN6…

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Pitchers worked much faster back in the 60s and 70s with fewer arm injuries. They were also pacing themselves and not putting max effort inot every single pitch.

Something else to think about is whether these pitchers would be risking these injuries if modern medicine hadn’t turned career ending injuries into temporary suspension of the career injuries.

Deep, I’m too lazy to analyze stats but the problem started well before the pitch clock. It has been velo and spin rate for years and the need for a 13 deep staff says it all in my book. Fifty years ago shoulder surgery was the bigger issue as I recall and the staffs then were 10. The answer in my view is to force pitchers to learn their craft by limiting the staff to 11. They would have to adjust and regain control of their pitches. It used to be just a knuckler that they would release and guess where it would end up. Now it’s just about every pitch. Seaver, Gibson, Pedro, etc. could go inside because they could control their pitches. Batters should not be wearing protective equipment outside of a shin guard to protect against foul balls. They would then stop diving into every pitch and pitchers would regain control by not over throwing or needing to put a sweep on the ball. Some pitches look like wiffle ball pitches and such has to do more damage on the arm.

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It’s not that we don’t need facts @Theman. It’s that we don’t need Fever Pitch Guy’s facts. He often makes up or bases opinions on stats that are in his own mind like when he pointed out that there was a ton of FA spending this year. And then he named all the top FA signings for proof. Without showing that all those guys were signed by teams with either (A) Their own TV stations or (B) Billion dollar TV deals. Stats are one thing. Plucking certain stats to prove a point that’s only in your mind is another.

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Frankly…assuming that another 7 seconds between pitches will miraculously change the TJ issues that plague pitchers today is a bit questionable from a causation view……..more probably, or at least as probable is your opinion of 18 vs 25 second pitch clocks stressing the arm is that modern day pitchers are being schooled from very young ages to throw max veto and spin on everything they throw….without the aid of any “sticky stuff” so by the time they get to the big leagues, their arms are very much more aged and fragile than pitchers in previous generations……much more probable that this fatigues and stresses the arm much more consistently and you could eliminate the pitch clock and probably see the same prevalence of TJ in the game. Just sayin…….

Clip – That’s a fair point, there are other pitcher injuries besides TJS. My list included just TJS because that’s what Bieber is having, and what was being discussed.

Dorn – Haha!

And I just referenced Roger Dorn in the Story comments!

Clip – Thank you, appreciate the kind words.

I think I have a good tongue-in-cheek compromise.

Looking at my list, the explosion of TJS began in 2010.

Not coincidentally, that was the year Aroldis Chapman burst onto the scene and set the velocity record of 105.8

So let’s just blame it all on Chapman …. deal?

Arm – You are correct, it’s just TJS. Perhaps that list should be updated to include both TJS and internal brace.

Agreed! Get rid of Chapman, get rid of surgeries (sorry Pirates)!

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Interesting theory, which seems to be based on the theory that there is something wholesome and pure about sport. I disagree with that premise (and most Disney based premises).

Bottom line (in my mind) is that professional sports are entertainment. The players are entertainers. The owners put capital at risk and expect to make a profit.

The commissioner exists to keep the owners spats between the owners and out of the public, to negotiate with the players, and to provide a public PR facade that a sports league is somehow something more than just entertainment. That fairy tale is why people worship their local franchises and politicians give money to the owners.

Players get paid a lot of money to sacrifice their bodies. Frankly, players are able to demand higher salaries because the injuries create scarcity of players. If having too many pitchers on the IL hurts revenue, the rules will change. Until the , I won’t hold my breath.

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@This one People watch 3 HR NFL games where teams play 17 times a year and once a week. Not 162 games and multiple times a week. The 2 are nit really comparable.

Hayzee: I would be interested to see how long Bieber and other pitchers injured after the pitch clock was implemented were taking between pitches before the pitch clock was implemented. If it was a big drop in time between pitches, I think the pitch clock could definitely be a factor in causing pitcher injuries.

Aroldis Chapman was a communist plot to destroy our national pastime, and fracture our national unity.

Now that he has succeeded, he is no longer receiving instructions from Moscow. That’s why he can’t throw strikes any more.

All must be true. I just Googled it and Google agreed.

We’ve got your number Aroldis, ya Commie!

Always – Me too, but it will never happen because a former player will be biased in favor of the union.

A more reasonable ask would be for player reps to be included in voting for the commissioner. As long as only owners are allowed to vote, they will always get someone who will prioritize profits over all else.

Rob – Good post, I agree with much of it. Yes sports is a form of entertainment, going back to at least the ancient Romans. Competition, winners and losers …. the most popular form of entertainment in the world.

You kind of make baseball sound like professional wrestling, but it is not. People worship franchises (not always local) because they share the thrill of victory. Heck, some people here have a habit of saying “we” when referring to a team … that’s where the origin of the word “fan” comes from, “fanatic”.

Let’s see if MLB follows through on the changes I mentioned earlier, only 11-12 pitchers per team and minimum number of days on the big club when they are called up.

deep – Great post, but please substitute Moscow with Havana. Haha!

Uncle – Why is it whenever everyone is having an interesting, information, fun exchange of thoughts, you gotta bring your usual childish crap into the discussion. Keep your personal crap out of here, please. If you don’t like me then put me on mute please.

I put a hell of a lot more time and effort presenting facts than you do, and I often include sources like I did above. Everything I present as fact is easily verifiable.

Take your bitterness at being proven wrong elsewhere.

You’re the one who said something dumb. I just pointed it out. Sorry if you still don’t get it, But it’s more a slight on the public education system.

I doubt the pitch clock has anything to do with it. They still have a good while between pitches

Dude we don’t know that. It’s just a theory

Dr, Andrew’s has stated recently that he’s been giving TJ surgery to youth athletes than he is the pro’s which has flip flopped from what it was 20 years ago.

This is obvious that it’s the obsession with velocity that’s causing more injuries in pitchers

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Totally agree, the handling of pitchers is a big part of it but Manfred is also part of it. His rule changes are ruining what made baseball great.

CardAG: Yes, approximately 57% of TJ surgeries are on players under 20, I believe.

But, for those who haven’t had it, I believe the clock {may be} a correlating factor. Here’s another way to put it: if overuse with high velo/torque causes TJ at young ages, then it stands to reason that high velo/torque combined with increasing fatigue could have a greater impact at older ages.

Take Beiber, for example… he’s not a high velo guy. So how would his qualify if not for another contributing factor?

It’s certainly an interesting study, but I wouldn’t rule out anything just yet.

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Perhaps it has something to do with the ball??? How much of a spike since Major League Baseball purchased Rawlings, the baseball manufacturer, in 2018??? Perhaps monkeying around with some balls that go far, and some that don’t isn’t such a good idea?

It’s the same thing with drugs. These companies toss out these wonder drugs( Most of which were designed for something else) As being miracle cures for what ails us with absolutely no idea what the long term effects will be, Clipper. Thus making us Human Guinea Pigs. With the latest being Ozempic as a weight loss drug and then people started dropping like flies. The long term effects of these new rules won’t be known for years.

What data are you using to show that these drugs are causing people to “drop like flies”?

Uncle – There are so many different possible factors in pitcher injuries, I agree we can’t just isolate all of them to any one cause.

Some people think Giolito’s injury was the result of a brand new grip that Bailey taught him in ST. Who knows, it’s certainly possible it contributed to his season-ending surgery.

As for drugs, that’s a little bit different. Semaglutide clinical trials began in 2008 and wasn’t FDA approved until 2017. So the FDA does wait many years before approving new drugs.

FPG- The problem with drugs is that most of the drugs are tested for what they were intended to do. Then they find a side effect that solves some other problem( Viagra) for instance. I myself have a spinal disease that causes pain in my extremities and what drug did they prescribe? An anti-depressant. Does it help? Yeah. What’s it doing for my long term health? Nobody will say for fear of being sued. Even though a drug has been tested, Don’t assume they actually know what long term side effects it will have. As for myself it’s slightly better than taking pain pills so far. As I have no desire to become a junkie, legally or not.

@Vary Good call there, defia possibility. There are a lot of factors here that are unique. Very well could be a combination of all of them to varying extents.

I think we’re all ignoring the obvious here. Pitchers pitch so much harder now than they used to. It feels like everyone throws 98 now. I’m sure the uptick in hard throwers is why we have an uptick in injuries

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Do you think going with a six man rotation would help reduce injuries?

I believe the Japanese use a six man rotation. But they also work their pitchers harder.

Why don’t we go back and look at footage from when pitchers threw 20 complete games a year and see how long they took between pitches?

We could, but in those days hitters, pitchers, and coaches didn’t have video and sophisticated statistical analysis at their disappear in real time to figure out the tiny advantage they can gain from slight changes in delivery, swing angle, spin rates, etc.

All this information changes the whole incentive structure of how hitters and pitchers approach ABs. The hitters often know what’s coming from film study, which is why you rarely see a starter go through the lineup more than twice, and why there’s so much emphasis on “high-stress” pitches.

The game is completely different strategically than it was 20 years ago, but basic anatomy hasn’t changed that much.

No. The ever increasing need for TJ surgery started long before the pitch clock.

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I guarantee you that MLB does not care. No way will they ever admit that they(Manfred) screwed up baseball.

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I coach high school. Kids aren’t taught to throw with their shoulder anymore. It’s all the snap of the elbow, which can create more velocity but cap the distance you can throw a ball. Everybody’s got more of a football motion, which is needed for throwing spirals. It doesn’t apply to baseball, though.

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Pitchers have been getting Tommy John surgeries on an assembly line since they all Started throwing 100mph every pitch. The numbers haven’t changed with the pitch clock.

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This one has got to hurt. Free agency year. Ugh.

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Calling all nurses Calling all nurses Room 12 has a Bieber fever

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Why didnt they sell high and trade him after his amazing 2022 season? This organization is so badly run. They either trade players who flourish elsewhere or do limited moves year and year holding.

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Since the start of the 2013 season, Cleveland has the 4th best winning percentage in MLB, and they did that on a small market budget. They are far from badly operated.

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small sample size, but 6-2 thus far…without significant improvements in offseason. Don’t know if they will stay hot, but indeed–not a badly run org at all.

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Choked to the Chubbies

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They would have if they had had a crystal ball

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With hindsight being what it is, they should have. But it’s pretty absurd to say they should have moved him at the time.

At the time, they were coming off a playoff series win and figured they could go further since they had a young team that (in theory) was only getting better. They also didn’t have quite the same pitching depth that they’ve been accustomed to having, and even though Williams/Bibee/Allen came up and were great, McKenzie was injured most of the year and there wasn’t anyone else behind them.

Essentially, you’re saying that a team with serious intentions on contending with limited pitching depth (by their standards) should have traded their best starter. This team gets criticized for not moving talent and they get criticized for moving talent too soon; you can’t have it both ways.

They are far from badly run. They draft well, compete every year, and trades normally work out in their favor.

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@aoe3 If he stayed healthy and continued to pitch well, it would have been one of the smartest moves to not trade him. Just curious, back in ’22, were you posting that he should be traded?

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How does this keep happening?

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Front offices don’t have metrics for pitchability and finesse, so they don’t have any incentive to promote it. They CAN however, track velo and x/y/z break. Pair those two together with what breaking pitches do to pitchers bodies and we have what we have.

First organization to legitimately value durability and arm health over velo and spin rate will usher in the biggest revolution since Moneyball.

When an All Star Pitchers velocity starts dropping and then they try to trade him it doesn’t take a Rocket Scientist to figure out something bad is going on. 1+1 doesn’t equal 3.

Oh they do and they have metrics and strategies as well. Although pitching injuries can hit anywhere, the better run teams have significantly fewer of them.

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Or they might have a huge number of healthy pitchers with ERAs around 5.00 because hitters can crush pitches without big velocity and spin.

All these injuries are an unfortunate side effect of the continuing evolution of the game.

I hope I’m wrong and teams do crack the code to combine performance and health, but I don’t see it happening any time soon.

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I think the Cardinals may already be attempting that durability revolution.

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Plus, there will still be injuries because they are unavoidable to an extent. So even if there might be a few less injuries in the long run, I can’t see any team taking on the risk of diminished performance based on a partial leap of faith. The numbers would have to be pretty stark for a team to take that chance.

Also, a lot of these guys have grown up putting a ton of stress on their arms and suddenly dialing back the velocity isn’t going to change that reality. Not to mention the fact many would need to relearn how to pitch absent said gas. It’s not the quickest nor easiest transition.

all the experts on mlbtr will tell you…

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Wow that’s a shame.

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Somebody needs to do the Randy Johnson chalk outline but on the mound, this is crazy.

For anyone not in the know-

youtube.com/shorts/K-kxBQ8YxLI?si=TcQVkHxjDTWg_I0i

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Hate to see another one get Tommy John

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Damn. Wishing him a speedy recovery. What gives!

The only correlation to the significant increase in TJS of late has been the pitch clock. Nothing else has change in the last few years.

The problem, imho, was they tested the pitch clock in the minors system. While on its face it is seemingly a good testing ground, you are testing it on much younger baseball players with much less mileage on their arms. When doing health studies and the impact of torque and rotation in the human body, age certainly matters.

Not true. Pitchers add new pitches all the time, and broadcasters are already calling 2024 “the year of the sweeper.”

Clipper-I give you the sweeper. The fact that pitchers can’t use aids to help them grip the baseball anymore. The pitch clock. The humidor. Platelet injections. I’m sure I missed some.

Uncle Mike: I understand your points. But, I said correlation, not causation. If I didn’t clarify what I meant, it is that the clock is one factor. How? Well, imho, throwing high-torque, high-velo pitches is bad enough. But, to do that under conditions which don’t allow for sufficient recovery leads to poor form and the same stress under worse anatomical conditions – thus, the correlation between the clock and injuries.

I don’t dispute I could be wrong, and we won’t really know for sure for a while. But it seems to me that any time you keep high stress events on increasingly fatigued bodies, it’s clearly setting conditions for injuries. Therefore, I think it’s a mistake to dismiss it outright.

There has not been a significant increase of TJ of late. The recent peak was 2018, much higher than this year and last.

I wasn’t disputing your point, Just saying that pointing to one thing and one thing only is academic. It would take a set of variables and testing to see what really is happening and the disposable thing in this equation is players. The same way human life is disposable to drug companies Pitchers are disposable to teams. Every team has a top 30 list with a lot of P’s on it. Next.

True and that makes sense. My apologies for misunderstanding that part of it. I don’t even know if I’m right…. Lol.

I’m quite sure you’re right. Just to what degree is what’s debatable ant testable. Although it won’t ever be done first. The test is right now and with no apparent fear what it does to players is the problem.

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Appreciate your thoughtful (and always humble) commentary YC. Interesting points.

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Where is this info? The spreadsheet I saw seemed to imply a decent uptick starting last season.

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Damn. He was looking really sharp through his first 2 starts. No earned runs, 20/1-K/BB

People can’t be throwing this hard pitch after pitch. Velocity has increased tons and with it so many high quality pitchers are out in the middle of their prime more than before. I know the throwing motion is unnatural and all, but it has been all along and it wasn’t always like this to the same extent. Something needs to change, because people barely have a chance to see star pitchers pitch anymore and that’s a huge problem for MLB. How do you build star power like MLB always wants to do if your stars aren’t playing because they are in Dr. James Andrews’ office more than on the mound? Anyway, rant over.

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Exactly.Used to be high 80-low 90s was normal.Now mid to high 90 is considered normal.Human arm is not constructed that way

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Bring back the knuckler! It must be even harder to hit now if other pitchers are throwing breaking balls in the 90’s

I actually would guess it’s more spin rates than velocity, but doesn’t matter. Same argument applies. Stop trying to max out pitch after pitch. The Drivelines and other spin-and-velocity factories need to be relegated to the garbage can of history. Teach location and deception instead of velocity and (spin-based) movement.

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The issue is someone will always be looking to gain that extra edge. There will always be AAA/AAAA pitchers who will take on that extra injury risk to get a big league check. Everyone is taking on the extra risk of throwing high velo/spin to stay competitive because if you don’t you end up falling behind.

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Spencer Strider might be the next victim

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He incorporated a curveball to his repertoire this year. That can put a lot of strain on ones elbow and forarm. Maybe it wasnt a good idea.

He’s thrown a curveball his whole career, and in a small sample size this year he threw it less than half as often as he had in any other year since he’s been in the majors.

Yeah I was gonna say, even if that weren’t true he’s certainly been throwing a curve ball since he was in Little League. That’s the first breaking ball all young pitchers are taught, and it’s the easiest on the arm. It’s not that, and it’s not the pitch clock. It’s just the accumulated stress on his elbow.

I meant to reply about Spencer Strider and his new curveball for 2024

Yeah he’s been known for his curveball pretty much from the time he was drafted, but he’s phased it out to the point where he was only throwing it 6.6% of the time this year.

Maybe he just didn’t fully recover from the elbow problems he had last year, but he had a fully normal offseason so who knows. It’s tough to pinpoint exactly what causes these injuries, but I’d think it has little or nothing to do with his curve.

fangraphs.com/players/spencer-strider/27498/stats#…

Spencer had never thrown a curve in a game until this season.

Yeah I was talking about Bieber. The original comment was about Strider which has since been clarified, but this is an article about Bieber so I’m not talking about Strider.

@Michael My bad there was mention of both.

Bieber was quite a surprise. He had 2 great outings and then this news seemingly out of nowhere. Horrible timing for him to with next year being first time to hit free agency. I’m sure he ll still get a few decent longer offers maybe a bit lower AAVs. A lot of teams probably would be more than willing to offer to offer higher AAVs on a 2 or 3 yr with opt out after 2 or opt out with IP total after next season.

Whatever he gets it ll be interesting to see.

All good, the Strider mention threw me off so I didn’t even think it was who was being discussed lol

I’d imagine Bieber gets a three year deal for probably $20-25 million (the first year being maybe $2-5 million of that) to rehab, but I’d be surprised if the Guardians were the team to offer it. Maybe a three year deal with an opt out after the second year, like you suggested.

I’d imagine Bieber gets a *two year deal for $20-25 million, not three unless there’s an opt out

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Next Justin Bieber will need TJ

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Geez that’s unfortunate. This is a bad time to be getting it too. This was definitely a risk with him but he was looking good to start the year.

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Really sucks for Shane and CLE. Aside from the bad news, this has big implications on the AL Central. The Royals now have a fighting chance to take this division and that’s exciting. Will be a fun battle to watch this season.

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Umm, that is wishful thinking. KC has no chance. Gavin Williams will take Bieber’s spot in Cleveland’s rotation, so there will be no drop off.

But Gavin is out right now because of his elbow, so you can’t assume he’s going to step right in and stay healthy..

True, but KC lacks so much to be a contender that they’re at least 2 years away. They can’t continue to miss on drafting pitchers.

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no, they don’t KC lawyer

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They’re dropping like flies again. Pitch Clock for Sure. I’d be curious what the state will show injury wise pre clock and post on about five seasons total of usage. MLB will never tell us anyway.

Since injuries must be reported, it will be easy to get data on TJS and the pitch clock.

With the increase of major arm injuries in recent years before the pitch clock, I doubt that it’s been having much of an effect. It’s likely more on the emphasis on velocity over actual pitching.

Tempo and time limit between pitches now, instead of more intermittent rest I would think absolutely plays a roll in arm health. Add in velocity of course and you have a perfect storm.

There is no statistical relationship between institution of the pitch clock and pitcher injuries. The peak for TJ surgeries was years before the clock (in 2018).

If you care to learn something, look up the definition of “recency bias”. There is actually no particular increase in TJ surgeries this year.

This is my favorite comment. Until the next one.

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The year isn’t over it’s just starting

There are more injuries than Tommy John dude. If You care to use you mind.

The UCL injuries I doubt are linked to the pitch clock. Ligaments when over used and pushed which they call loading over exerts and then typically takes 48 HRs to recover. Poor mechanics also can be a contribing factor as exertion changes. Inconsistent delivery and Poor mechanics definitely have a higher likelihood when one is rushed.

Now muscle injuries on the other hand very well could occur due to rushing.

Also all the younger guys emerging right now missed an entire year of organized instruction and training with their franchises in 2020, which is absolutely unprecedented in MLB.

On top of everything mentioned above there is an ever growing push for higher velocity. And these young guys coming into league with over taxed arms. The mid 2000’s youth baseball much like every other sport saw an explosion of travel teams and off season academies, coaches, instructors, etc. Prior to that travel teams or what in Michigan we called Federation League or Fed was far the best kids while the others continued to play in rec leagues. Now there is seemingly a travel team of some sort out there for every kid whose parents are willing to pay. Unfortunately many realized there was alot of money to be made and unfortunately they are doing so by over working these kids physically.

I guess many justify it as helping and coaching these kids and they re not being pushed physically as tho it’s child labor. But what they are doing is pushing various joints, tendons, ligaments, muscles, etc to a point that puts them in harms way. Violent motions such as pitching are unnatural to all humans, but even more harmful to young developing bodies.

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Poor Indians fans.

What could be worse than being called the Guardians?

The Indians.

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Ugh! This sucks. Wonder how many injuries it takes before someone takes a chance on Bauer?

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Depends on how concerned the team is about a neck injury.

Or brings Ron Darling out of retirement

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Beiber went to Driveline baseball this offseason and picked up several mph on his velocity. Looked great and was having a resurgence. Now TJ surgery.

We can ask “why does this keep happening?” all we want but the answer seems pretty clear. Human arms aren’t made to throw as hard as they are throwing in the current game. But pitchers aren’t going to stop looking for velocity increases because that’s largely how they’re having success. But also, hitters today are used to seeing this kind of velocity so it’s not as if pitchers are going to just decide to throw slower and be hit around.

I think the real answer is that this is the inevitable and immovable new normal of the MLB

You could put a velocity limit on pitches, and then move back the walls at stadiums. I don’t know of anything else that would work.

How the heck would they enforce a velocity limit?

You can get hitters out with something other than velocity and spin. Deception works. Location works. And to be honest, higher scoring games are more exciting anyway. We’re headed toward a different sort of game where a 4.00 ERA is all-star worthy and 8-6 games are the norm, and pitchers stay healthy far more frequently.

You have to be able to execute on a consistent basis but Tom Seaver taught location, changing speeds, movement as well as velocity gets hitters out. Have a good defense behind you and let them do the rest.

This keeps happening because both the teams and the players have done a cost benefit analysis. They concluded the payoff is worth the injuries. Fans are more worried about this than the players.

I hope he survives the surgery.

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Get rid of the the pitch clock and bring back the sticky stuff

I’m in favor of a pitch clock and sticky stuff. Perhaps raise the time on the pitch clock, though.

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Yikes, but I guess that officially confirms that the Red Sox will be signing him in the offseason afterall!

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It’s all the science working to increase velocity and spin rates. The UCL is not designed to support the increased stress and torsion. Focused strength training, PED’s, and finding what breaking balls work with pitchers natural pronation and supination. We get great velocity and movement while sacrificing longer term arm health.

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It is not the pitch clock. Guys like Bob Gibson threw hard and quickly back in the day.

@Chad and @jersey john

I tend to agree with you two.

There is certainly no evidence it’s the pitch clock unless you consider opinions with no real facts on chat boards. Emphasis on velo and spin rate make a lot more sense.

I think the ‘evidence’is piling up but your 2nd and 3rd reason is also a part of the cause and solution.

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This guy who posts here, I think his name is Canuckleball, has been producing facts connecting these injuries to the pitch clock.

Also, not all pitchers work(ed) quickly and then there’s a guy like Greinke (Greg Maddox comes to mind too) who varied time in between pitches as a strategy. So it seems adjusting to this rule would have varied from pitcher to pitcher with a guy like Gibson transitioning easily.

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Bruh, this is ridiculous.

It’s just one after another.

Recency bias. This is just the time of year when this stuff happens. It’s been a normal year for TJ surgeries, far short of the peak in the late teens.

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More reason why pitchers in particular need to lock in extension contracts early.

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It’s Driveline (and their ilk). That’s the problem. The more popular they’ve become, the more TJ surgeries have been occurring. Their science — which is legit — encourages max effort (velo, torque, spin), which leads to max stress.

Combine that with Perfect Game tournaments occurring year round, and you have kids (who are being told velo is the key to a D1 scholarship/the majors) throwing max effort year round. Sport specialization is a major issue in all youth sports.

As a start, MLB could work with Little League/Perfect Game to outlaw breaking balls before, say, age 15. Because telling pitchers to throw slower at the big league level isn’t realistic, although, like the stolen base and batting average, the pendulum could swing back to a greater emphasis on command and less so on max velo.

Breaking balls are not correlated with arm injuries per se. What is correlated with injuries is velocity and spin rates. So throw all the curve balls you want (curves are actually quite easy on elbows) and all the sliders, but throw them more slowly and don’t try and max out spin.

Dr. James Andrews: “My rule of thumb is, don’t throw the curveball until you can shave, until your bone structure has matured and you have the neuromuscular control to be able to throw the pitch properly.”

nj.com/little-league-world-series/2014/08/trying_t…

Sure, let’s try to enforce a ban on breaking balls in little leagues throughout America. Sounds doable.

Ah, it’s all because of that evil known as Driveline. Driveline is the devil, I tell ya!

ImmaculateGrid needs to put in a TJS category.

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RIP spin rate era

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Eventually every mlb pitcher will be required to get Tommy John and a measles shot before they are allowed to play

Where’s the Tommy John vaccine when we need it most?

Dr Fauci says it’s on its way

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It’s those billionaire owners at it again!

I can see a point in the future where the ball is manipulated to increase movement and decline velocity so it’s easier to be crafty than quick.

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No pitch clock excuse. They were getting TJ before the new rules. It’s plain and simple. Pitchers arms are not as strong due to the 90s pitch to 100 pitch limit. Randy Pedro nolan Verlander would throw 135 pitchers CG and no issues.

The plural of anecdote is not data. Walter Johnson threw 100 probably. There are always freaks.

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I wonder what would happen if a mid-season division leader said, OK, we’ll drop the max-effort-effort-all-the-time approach for a couple months, settle for 96 wins instead of 99, with the goal of getting to the playoffs with the whole staff intact. Is max effort something that can be ramped up and down at will, or is it baked into the cake by the time a pitcher reaches the bigs?

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It’s too late the teams have no control. Pitchers get paid for analytic driven performance not for being durable. Until baseball execs start rewarding the pitchers who take the ball consistently nothing will chance. Money talks. In America that’s about all that talks.

I think there are pitching coaches out there that have some new ideas to preserve the long term health of their pitching staff (which may give them an advantage); they just have to be given an opportunity and support of the owner and NOT go all in on analytical trends.

Independent thought vs a Herd mentality can provide better results

It’s not just America. Money talks everywhere.

It would be easier to sprinkle in minor leaguers and give everyone a chance to rest. The trick is knowing when a pitcher needs that break. Players don’t want to admit that they need a break and often do themselves in. Then it’s too late.

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Of all the opinions this one makes some sense. Perhaps the 6-man rotation has mérito.

The Dodgers do this a lot, with blatantly fraudulent use of the DL (I say this approvingly, as a fan). 13-pitcher roster max limits the ability the use bullpen games or skip starts unless you cheat (as long as the plan is to always use 4-6 relievers a game, which is another issue).

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That front office ended up getting nothing for him. Brutal.

I thought he be flipped right after the 11 K performance on Opening Day.

Cleveland really pooped the bed big time on how they handled him.

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About the worst time for this to happen. He’s likely going to miss most if not all of next season recovering too.

He sure cost himself. He would have been moved at the deadline to a contender with a shot at a World Series and he screwed himself on his next contract.

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He was looking good in his first two starts.

My fantasy team is in shambles.

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I’m LMAO right now. Classic Cleveland move. They didn’t trade him and now his value is ZERO. Good game cle good game

So..you think they should have predicted this injury?

Predicted no but come on this team isn’t going deep in the playoffs they should have traded him at peak value INCASE something like this happens. Now they get nothing, he walks in free agency and they set the team back a few years. So sick of being a Cleveland fan. If they are gonna be cheap – fine then trade him like they did lindor and everyone before him that was about to get paid and at least get something.

Also for what it’s worth people were saying last year that the sign of his velocity going down is a sign that something was going to happen that he wasn’t himself and people were predicting this

If you can believe the rumors CLE tried to trade him this off-season. In retrospect you can 2nd guess their judgement, they were asking too much in return apparently

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Of course they were asking too much for him, he is a better pitcher than Dylan Cease is and the pathetic White Sox were asking too much for him. Of course by no means am I saying it is the only reason why or even the main reason why, but I mean it.

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The prior elbow issues were there, but we forgot about that because the new results looked great after he visited Driveline. Teams must have been more on the ball about this because no one traded for him.

The current landscape of injured pitchers is characterized by the risk of maximum effort chasing for big-dollar contracts. It seems like the league needs to figure this out because there are fewer and fewer pitchers who are frontliners and healthy.

Also, blame the players for being so greedy; they will risk their longevity for sake of getting a big contract.

All I know for sure is that there has been an increase in TJ surgeries that shows a very strong correlation with the number of comments on the MLBTR stories about TJ surgeries.

Oh crap, I just took out another pitcher. My bad.

There has not been an increase in TJ surgeries, unless you mean since like 2012. The peak was six years ago.

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Strider is right behind him in the waiting room. It’s going to get to the point where no GM will offer longer than a 3-year deal to pitchers.

With all the TJ surgeries, I’d imagine the price is skyrocketing due to supply-demand.

Probably best not to attend the Walmart or Dollar Store TJS service.

For the sake of the overall game and of course for the individual team and player all these pitchers losing 1.5 years to recover is discouraging. In the long run it will cost the player $, takes away the teams ability to compete. GMs might need to try having like 10 SPs and maybe using openers and trying 6 man rotation. IMHO I believe the obsession with pitch clock and max spin rates has a lot to do with the increase but there are other reasons

Trying to convince some pitchers to throw underhand or 3/4/sidearm may be a way to delay TJ surgery even if inevitable. Not all players can throw this way or want to attempt. Anybody want to work on a knuckleball?

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Tough break for the Guardians.

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Sucks all the way around. For him, the team, and baseball overall.

Hope he’s back to being himself after he recovers.

The link isn’t pitchclock or max velo. We need to start looking at the pharmaceutical and insurance industries. Together they hold more power and influence than MLB. Robert M. Califf was nominated by you know who in 2022 to be the commissioner of the FDA. The left continues to pull the puppet strings and With Uncle Joes ties to Nippon Steel

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A little early in the day to be raving drunk

More like B-living under a rock if you think these “injuries” are legitimate and not an orchestrated plan. Guess you think that diabetes and heart disease were accidental too. Follow the money train buddy. I can’t do it for you

Hahahaha. Wow.

Just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you. LoL

Jimmy, check all the labels on your cereal – I think they snuck something in there. Do it now!

Have you looked at a box of cereal? Enough said.

A fine example of frontier gibberish.

If you cannot recognize which side benefits by chronic illness and injury, we’re done here. Best of luck to you inkstain.

Interesting article about a pitcher having two Tommy John surgeries and thoracic outlet syndrome before retiring from baseball.

theathletic.com/4170284/2023/02/09/angels-sam-full…

“But that year was something of a mirage. He suspects the surgeries — the first performed by the renowned Dr. James Andrews — were not done incorrectly. He believes his problems are more anatomical and thus unavoidable.”

My idea is that we are asking athletes to perform something that their bodies are incapable of doing for an extended period of time. Are there pitchers who can throw at high velocity and never get hurt? Of course there are, but many more are being asked to do it as well.

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Wow this came out of nowhere I’ve been saying it over and over And nobody wants to listen There’s an epidemic in baseball for pitchers But nope nothings wrong, everythings fine. Ya’ll are living in friggin lala land

No one wants to listen to Johnny Utah????? What kind of a world are we living in?

Unfortunate to say the least. A lot of reasons for the high rate of TJ surgery we have seen for the last couple of decades now. Throwing harder and harder puts a huge stress on the elbow. I always laugh when people think MLB pitchers today are babied. They point out how pitchers of days gone by threw more pitches and innings. True, but they didn’t throw this hard. They paced themselves because they had to. They also by and large didn’t pitch nearly year round like many of the current MLB pitchers did when they were young. Pitchers of yesterday were often 3 sport athletes so they got time away from baseball on a regular basis. Most pitchers today gave up other sports at a very young age to focus on baseball. Little League, travel ball, off season training. They rarely got any time off. Now a lot of young kids know this and are taking time off, especially from pitching. But it will probably take another 20 years to know if that is going to help.

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A lot of teams were lucky not to trade for Bieber. I hope his TJ goes smoothly and that he is back to being an ace again in 2025.

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Smart organizations develop depth for the rotation. You have to assume you will have to replace at least 3 arms in your rotation throughout the season. Sometimes even more. That’s why the bullpen is huge, has been huge over past 3 decades, and will continue to be so. Long term contracts for starting pitchers are crazy. Yamamoto contract with the Dodgers will be very interesting to gauge. I’m hoping be of a few Yankee fans that is happy he didn’t sign with the Yankees at that term. When the Yankees were winning consistently they had a very balanced strong rotation and veteran arms that understood there body and how to finesse there way through lineups especially if they didn’t have there good stuff. Now pitchers overthrow until they are removed. Spin rate is what exit velocity and upper cut swing syndrome has morphed into. I rather have 4 veteran arms that don’t throw hard and can induce weak ground ball contact and one young gun slinger than a rotation of youngish hard throwing arms. Too volatile.

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Nice of him to wait until AFTER he shuts down my Mariners to go under the knife.

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It seems like the baseball world knew this was coming. Bieber trade value was very low.

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When you build pitchers to inning limits, emphasis velocity and allow hitters to do almost anything they want to gain an edge, this will continue and never change.

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Pitch clock? Horse manure. Pitchers pitched must quicker for decades and didn’t break down like this. They pitched complete games. Look elsewhere for the reasons. Maybe letting stat geeks run baseball teams has some relevance.

Like “Horse manure” analysis.

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Damn ! He was talked about as possible trade acquisition for alota teams this off-season. What a bummer. Season just started n there’s already ton of Ps down.

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This is soooooooo Cleveland.

Calling the whole city, team, and fan debase a dumpster fire is unflattering to Dumpsters.

Bring back the spitball. Don’t remember guys needing TJS before they banned it.

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The league. Pitch to contact. Pitch 9 innings. Hi I’m Nolan Ryan I like the strikeout and the 100 mph Pitch. The league. We need all pitchers throwing 98+, and 25% SO%. 5 innings and TJ surgery is what we get.

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This is just horrible news! I’m not even a Cleveland fan but was so happy to see Bieber looking like his cy young self through two starts. A real shame.

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And there it is. To all you Reds fans that were screaming to trade away half the farm for him.. how ya feelin now??!

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Advances in pitch tracking have humans working closer to the edge of their anatomical limits in regards to torque. Individuals are choosing to do engage in that.

Owners aren’t introducing anything that increases the chance of injury. Especially pitchers. Paying people to not pitch is their worst nightmare. If the data suggested a pitch clock is causing injuries, it would be gone in a heartbeat.

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So glad the Braves didn’t trade for him like many wanted. That said, hate this for him and his team.

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I was suspicious of this. Beiber’s K9 rate has gone from 14.2 to 12.6 to 8.9 to 7.5. Drops like that are very unusual and often followed by injuries.

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You might as well get TJ when you’re drafted and get it over with. 3 aces go down in the same day is sad for the game!

You might as well get TJ when you’re drafted and get it over with. ======================= Yup, thought that Boras blew it with Rocker when the Mets drafted him. Had he gotten the TJS back then, he’d have been pitching the full season in 23, on the Mets in 24, and a FA by 30/31 yo.

He lost two key years holding out for pocket change.

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I know a fairly recent Cy Young winner they can sign for the league minimum…

Wonder what mlb Ps think bout influx of injuries to Ps. They should have an inkling to what it is causing em. They’re the ones doing it. Would be interesting to see there percentages of blame to what problem is : max effort, Ps being coddled, offspeed stuff, too many fastballs, pitch clock, weighted ball throwing programs, etc. A survey of the Ps who are hurt now ?

With the increase now in homeruns and stolen bases. Will the majors start looking like a Norfolk game ever night?

Well, so much for the Guardians’ chances to win a very weak AL Central Division this year. The Twins are definitely the favorites right now, but I could see either the Tigers or the Royals beating them out if enough things go right for either of them. We certainly won’t see any Wild Card teams from the AL Central, though.

Cleveland 2-0 vs, the Twins so far this season.

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Has this pitch clock helped bring the younger crowd to the game? No its just us, the same as it always has been. Stop hurting the players trying to bring in 10 kids who could care less. If a kid likes baseball he will find it and an extra 15 min will not matter. Save the players.. please

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The pitch clock is not helping. Feel bad for Cleveland fans here. I will get Ohtani (my bookie) to place a bet that will not slow down until adjustments are made to the rules.

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Alot of this has happened since pitch clock & the push by MLB to make sure pitchers aren’t using any substances on the ball. Let the pitchers use whatever they want & let the batters juice, definitely made baseball a lot more fun to watch

Dr Andrew’s recent quotes. Talks about kids throwing into the 90’s way to early in high school basically speeding up damage to your arm before the ligament is fully developed.

“These kids are throwing 90 mph their junior year of high school”, he says. “The ligament itself can’t withstand that kind of force. We’ve learned in our research lab that baseball is a development sport. The Tommy John ligament matures at about age 26. In high school, the red line where the forces go beyond the tensile properties of the ligament is about 80 mph”.

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Jets in action against the Stars after overtime win

The winnipeg jets visit the dallas stars after the jets took down the nashville predators 4-3 in overtime.

Dallas Stars

Winnipeg Jets (48-24-6, third in the Central Division) vs. Dallas Stars (50-20-9, first in the Central Division)

Dallas; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: The Dallas Stars host the Winnipeg Jets after the Jets defeated the Nashville Predators 4-3 in overtime.

Dallas is 50-20-9 overall and 16-6-2 against the Central Division. The Stars have a 21-7-2 record in games they convert at least one power play.

Winnipeg is 48-24-6 overall with an 18-5-1 record in Central Division games. The Jets are 42-5-2 when scoring three or more goals.

Thursday's game is the fourth time these teams square off this season. The Stars won 4-1 in the previous meeting.

TOP PERFORMERS: Joe Pavelski has scored 27 goals with 39 assists for the Stars. Jamie Benn has nine goals and five assists over the last 10 games.

Joshua Morrissey has nine goals and 55 assists for the Jets. Gabriel Vilardi has scored four goals over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Stars: 9-1-0, averaging 4.2 goals, seven assists, 3.1 penalties and 7.3 penalty minutes while giving up 1.9 goals per game.

Jets: 4-5-1, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.8 assists, 3.5 penalties and 9.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game.

INJURIES: Stars: Jani Hakanpaa: out (lower body), Evgenii Dadonov: out (lower body).

Jets: None listed.

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

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Latest news.

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Cody Bradford, Adolis García help Rangers beat A's 6-2 to end 3-game skid

Max Scherzer is being glued together to make his start in World Series Game 3.

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The one thing you'll want to do is the only thing not to do while driving during solar eclipse

travel after surgery insurance

The 2024 solar eclipse will shroud much of the United States in darkness on Monday, leaving many people to wonder: Is it safe to drive during the celestial event?

We know Americans should wear certified eclipse glasses when looking directly at the eclipse. And millions of Americans are in the eclipse's path of totality , the moment that occurs when the moon completely blocks the sun's light from reaching us. During totality, the eclipse can be viewed with the naked eye.

The eclipse will begin in Texas at 1:27 p.m. CDT and end in Maine at 3:35 p.m. EDT, but the exact time of the eclipse varies by where you are in its path. If you plan to drive during this time, you may not only have to contend with traffic , but need to take steps to stay safe.

Here's what to know about driving during the eclipse.

Where to get free solar eclipse glasses: Libraries, Warby Parker and more giving glasses away

Is it safe to drive during an eclipse?

It's safe to drive during an eclipse as long as you don't look up at the sky. AAA is telling drivers to be focused on the road if they are operating a car during the total solar eclipse.

"Anyone operating a vehicle should not be attempting to look up at the sky during the eclipse – their eyes should be on the road," said Aixa Diaz, a spokeswoman from AAA.

The automobile insurance company is advising Americans who want to safely view the total eclipse to "find a safe place to park (not on the side of a road or highway) away from other traffic and then wear your eclipse glasses," Diaz said.

Do not wear eclipse glasses while driving

It should go without saying, but authorities are also reminding people to not drive while wearing eclipse glasses .

The Missouri and Texas departments of transportation are both advising drivers to not wear eclipse glasses during the natural phenomenon and to focus on the road.

"Do not wear eclipse glasses while driving," reads a list of safety tips from the Texas department. Thousands people are expected to drive to towns along the path of totality, including Dallas, ahead of the eclipse.

Several state transportation departments  released similar warnings  ahead of the 2017 total solar eclipse. Wyoming's, for example, warned people traveling to the state about how they wouldn't be able to see the road with solar eclipse glasses on.

"When the glasses are worn, a person shouldn’t be able to see anything except the solar eclipse, which is why it is unsafe for a person to wear them when driving," the warning reads.

"Eclipse glasses are for eclipse viewing, not driving. They shouldn’t be treated like normal sunglasses," Diaz said.

IMAGES

  1. 7 Safe Ways to Travel After Major Surgery

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  2. Traveling for Surgery

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  3. Travel Insurance after Stent or Heart By-Pass Surgery

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  4. Travel Medical Insurance: The Complete Guide

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  5. 5 Important Things to Know Before You Travel After Surgery

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  6. How Does Travel Insurance Work

    travel after surgery insurance

VIDEO

  1. How Much Will My Surgery Cost? Will My Insurance Pay For My Surgery?

  2. "When can I travel after surgery?"

  3. Why Hospitals Demand a Deposit, Even with Health Insurance? #insurance

  4. Unexpected Surgeries That Are Covered by Insurance: What You Need to Know!

COMMENTS

  1. Travel Insurance After Surgery or Operation

    Some operations, like joint replacements, might limit air travel for 3 months or more. As a rough guide, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says that before flying, you should allow: one day after simple cataract or corneal laser surgery. one day after a colonoscopy. one to two days after keyhole surgery.

  2. When can I fly after surgery?

    As a rough guide, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says that before flying, you should allow: 1 day after simple cataract or corneal laser surgery. 1 day after a colonoscopy. 1 to 2 days after keyhole surgery. 4 to 5 days after simple abdominal surgery. 7 days after more complicated eye surgery. 10 to 14 days after chest surgery or a coronary ...

  3. Travel After Surgery: What You Need To Know

    Whether you can travel after surgery will depend on: Your airline's regulations. The type of surgery you had. Each airline has its own rules about post-surgery travel, so it's important to verify with them, especially if your surgery was complex. Similarly, you should consult your surgeon or GP before flying if you've undergone major surgery.

  4. 5 Important Things to Know Before You Travel After Surgery

    The answer to this question may vary depending on the type of travel, the type of surgery, as well as the individual patient. Generally, after surgery, it is recommended to avoid air travel for a while. Spending long hours on a plane after surgery can increase your risk of developing a blood clot in one of the deep veins of your body (usually ...

  5. When Summer Travel Includes Surgery; Mayo Clinic Expert Offers Tips for

    "In general, travel after surgery can be done if it's well-organized and thought out ahead of time," Dr. Cassivi says. About Mayo Clinic Recognizing 150 years of serving humanity in 2014, Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life.

  6. When can I fly after surgery?

    As a rough guide, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says that before flying, you should allow: 1 day after simple cataract or corneal laser surgery. 1 day after a colonoscopy. 1 to 2 days after keyhole surgery. 4 to 5 days after simple abdominal surgery. 7 days after more complicated eye surgery. 10 days after chest surgery or a coronary ...

  7. Travel after surgery

    Traveling after a surgical procedure may have an impact on your travel insurance. So discuss your plans with your insurer to make sure you have the right policy for your trip. Is it safe to get travel vaccines after surgery? Some experts recommend not getting vaccinated before or immediately after surgery. This is because some shots leave some ...

  8. When Does Travel Insurance Cover Existing Medical Conditions?

    Let's say you book that cycling trip and your travel insurance 12 weeks after your surgery, when you're feeling pretty good and you can take long walks around the neighborhood. Don't assume you're medically able to travel. If you end up making a travel insurance claim related to your knee, Allianz Global Assistance may review your medical ...

  9. A Guide to Travel Insurance for Cancer Patients

    Travel insurance covers cancer the same way it does any other pre-existing medical condition. Allianz Global Assistance defines a pre-existing medical condition as an injury, illness, or medical condition that, within the 120 days prior to and including the purchase date of your policy: Caused a person to seek medical examination, diagnosis ...

  10. Going Abroad For Surgery: A Checklist for Expats

    Along with travel, if you relocate after surgery or seek care at a different place than where you had your procedure, make sure you have a coordinated post-care plan. Make sure you get all your discharge paperwork. Also get copies of your post-op labs and other tests to stay in good health after surgery is over.

  11. Medical Travel Insurance for Elective Surgery Abroad

    Stem cell treatments. We offer travel insurance for elective surgery abroad in Thailand, Lithuania, Turkey and around the world. If there is anything that you do not understand about our travel insurance for elective surgery abroad or if you have any questions about our cover, please contact us: 0203 409 1236. [email protected].

  12. What's the Best Travel Insurance for Pre-Existing Medical Conditions?

    The best travel insurance for pre-existing conditions is the OneTrip Prime Plan from Allianz Global Assistance, which includes abundant coverage for covered emergency medical expenses overseas (up to $50,000). You also get emergency medical transportation benefits up to $500,000 to travel to the nearest appropriate medical facility or to return ...

  13. Travel and breast cancer

    How soon you can travel will be different depending on the type of surgery you've had. You will usually need to wait a minimum of 6 weeks after surgery before you can fly. This is because there is an increased risk of blood clots and complications after surgery. It's important to check with your treatment team before booking any travel.

  14. Travel Timeline After Open Heart Surgery -- Tips For Patients

    The National Health Service recommends checking with your airline BEFORE flying, since companies have varying regulations on post-surgery travelers. However, the Civilian Aviation Authority says that 10 to 14 days is sufficient after chest surgery or a coronary artery bypass graft. After any heart operation, patients should remain moderately ...

  15. Best Travel Medical Insurance Of 2024

    The Best Travel Medical Insurance for Visitors to the U.S. Atlas America - Best Overall. Patriot America Lite - Best for Cost. Patriot America Plus - Great for Trip Interruption Insurance ...

  16. How Does Travel Medical Insurance Work?

    Health Insurance. Call (855) 596-3655 to speak with a licensed insurance agent and compare insurance or Medicare options you may be eligible for. Travel health insurance pays for emergency medical costs when you're traveling outside the U.S. A travel medical policy can protect you against unexpected accidents and illnesses.

  17. 6 Travel Tips After Shoulder Surgery

    Travel With A Companion - Consider traveling with a companion who is aware of your shoulder restrictions and who is willing to help as needed. This is especially true if you are driving to your destination and you have driving restrictions following your procedure. Confirm Travel Is Safe - While most of the focus is on how uncomfortable it ...

  18. Travel insurance and breast cancer

    It's possible to arrange travel insurance and many people with secondary breast cancer continue to enjoy travelling. However, you will probably have to pay a higher premium because of the greater risk of a claim. Some companies may not be able to offer you cover, for example, if you have only just finished a course of treatment or recently come ...

  19. The Manual: Travel and prostate problems

    Travel insurance is likely to be more expensive after a diagnosis of prostate cancer - even if you're not having treatment or if the cancer is under control. Insurance is worked out by averages and risks. Because insurers think you're more likely to need medical assistance on your trip, they charge more. Most men with prostate cancer can find ...

  20. Travel insurance with a heart or circulatory condition

    Buying travel insurance with a heart and circulatory condition can be difficult and confusing. We can help you find the best insurance for you. ... Insurance can cover the cost of treatment abroad, including surgery and medicines. It can also be used to pay for your stay while you're treated, new flights, lost luggage, delays and if you have ...

  21. Travelling After a Hip or Knee Replacement

    The NHS advises that you should wait three months before flying after undergoing hip replacement surgery. Remember that long-haul air travel can especially put you at a higher risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) if you've had a recent hip replacement. The most advisable thing to do is speak to your doctor.

  22. Travelling with prostate cancer

    Travel and prostate cancer. Going on holiday can be a great way to relax and get away from things. Having prostate cancer shouldn't stop you from travelling but you may need to plan and make special arrangements to help you enjoy your trip. On this page, we give tips on preparing for your trip, arranging travel insurance and how to look after ...

  23. Best Cheap Travel Insurance of April 2024

    Atlas Journey Premier offers $150,000 in primary medical coverage. Both plans have top-notch $1 million per person in medical evacuation coverage. Each plan offers travel inconvenience coverage of ...

  24. Travel Insurance Guide: What to Know After Spinal Fusion Surgery

    352 Likes, 54 Comments. TikTok video from Olivia (@backchatbadb): "Discover the best travel insurance options and learn from personal experiences after spinal fusion surgery. Get valuable insights and tips from this informative video. #scoliosis #scoliosissurgery #spinalfusion".

  25. I'm a financial planner, and I'd recommend annual travel insurance to

    That's why, as a financial planner, I believe it's crucial to consider protecting your trips with the right insurance coverage. One option often overlooked, particularly by frequent travelers, is ...

  26. What Treatment Reduces Cardiac Risk in Hyperthyroidism?

    This study used the Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database to compare the long-term risks for MACE among 114,062 patients (mean age, 44.1 years; 73.2% women) with newly diagnosed ...

  27. Shane Bieber To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    By Mark Polishuk | April 6, 2024 at 10:56pm CDT. Guardians ace Shane Bieber will soon be undergoing a Tommy John surgery after experiencing elbow pain in each of his last two starts, the team ...

  28. Delta sees record revenue as business travel accelerates, but stock

    Adjusted EPS is expected to be $2.20 to $2.50, surrounding the FactSet consensus of $2.22. For full-year 2024, Delta reiterated its EPS guidance range of $6 to $7 and its free-cash-flow forecast ...

  29. Jets in action against the Stars after overtime win

    Dallas; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT. BOTTOM LINE: The Dallas Stars host the Winnipeg Jets after the Jets defeated the Nashville Predators 4-3 in overtime. Dallas is 50-20-9 overall and 16-6-2 against the ...

  30. Can you drive during a solar eclipse? Yes, but avoid doing this

    It's safe to drive during an eclipse as long as you don't look up at the sky. AAA is telling drivers to be focused on the road if they are operating a car during the total solar eclipse. "Anyone ...