A Surgeon’s Prescription: Rest Over the Knife

More student-athletes are opting for surgery to fix injuries or boost performance, but one orthopedic surgeon says the best medicine is often the simplest: rest. Dr. Brady Heaps notes that he frequently has to talk athletes and their parents out of unnecessary procedures, particularly when there’s no actual injury.

Heaps points to “Tommy John” surgery, a procedure to replace a ligament in the elbow, as a prime example of this trend. Many parents mistakenly believe the surgery will enhance their child’s athletic abilities, but Heaps says that’s a myth. He advocates for patience and a non-surgical approach, emphasizing that rest is a far better choice.

“Sometimes the best treatment is rest,” Heaps said. “Rest not just for days but an adequate period of rest of six weeks, eight weeks.”

He added that non-essential procedures are particularly common among high school athletes in sports like baseball, softball, and gymnastics, where the intense pressure to perform often overshadows the need for proper recovery.