The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without Dustin May until some time after the All-Star break as he was transferred to the 60-day injured list following a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in his right elbow.
After being removed from his May 17 start against the Minnesota Twins after just one inning, the Dodgers announced he exited due to right elbow pain. Manager Dave Roberts then said after the game an MRI revealed May suffered a right flexor pronator strain and was likely to miss at least one month.
May underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2021 season, which made for additional concern with his current injury. Fortunately, May’s repaired ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) is said to be intact, and the Dodgers opted to go the PRP injection route in hopes of avoiding surgery.
Nevertheless, May is going to be shut down from throwing for a minimum of six weeks in order to give ample time for the PRP injection to take effect, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:
May is expected to get a scan in six weeks to track his progress after receiving a PRP injection on Monday, a league source said. Then, a determination will be made if he can start throwing again.
May not being able to throw for six weeks suggests he wouldn’t be in position to rejoin the Dodgers until August. That would be if there aren’t any setbacks and May is able to start throwing and stretching back out at the time of his next scheduled elbow examination.
On the season May is 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 34 strikeouts over 48 innings pitched. Although his strikeout numbers were lower than recent years, May was proving to be effective by pitching to contact and forcing hitters into uncomfortable swings.
How PRP injection can help Dustin May
With initial reports showing that May’s UCL did not tear again, PRP was a popular route to follow. The injection has regularly been used as an alternative to Tommy John for a number of years to aid in recovery.
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals veteran Zack Greinke, are just a few pitchers who have turned to PRP as a preventative treatment or to boost the healing process.
The success-rate for those receiving PRP is fairly high, under the right circumstances with both the candidate and severity of injury.
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