Pitchers can improve velocity after Tommy John surgery, but the imrpovement is credited to an intense, high-end rehab program that builds better mechanics and strength through conditioning. It is not believe that anything magical happens to the ligaments/tendons.
Interesting. All rest and no stress should do some good, I guess. There was an item on Newsweek aeons ago and a more recent one on Wired where they pondered the possibility on non-therapeutical TJ surgeries. Since some athletes are already going for LASIK to go beyond 20/20, it didn’t strike me as surprising that this could happen. 2 years out of commission is a long time, though.
Well, Newsweek was begging the question, because Tommy John surgery does not equal improved velocity. What causes the improved velocity is more about rehab, conditioning, and targeted strength training and better overall mechanics (which is where the torque comes from that produces the velocity).
Eye surgery is a bit more cause and effect: The surgery is the reason one sees better, but I wouldn’t doubt that if a study was conducted that confidence in the surgery was an improvement factor all itself. Confidence is an important component to success.
The above paragraph might very well be a grammatical nightmare, but I’m too tired to care.