Arm Pump Surgery for Dani Pedrosa and Stefan Bradl

Jerez was a tough round for MotoGP riders. Stefan Bradl suffered severe arm pump during the race on Sunday, where he finished in 10th place. But it seems that Dani Pedrosa was also suffering from a similar problem, despite riding to 3rd — just short Valentino Rossi.

Despite not mentioning the problem all weekend, Pedrosa underwent surgery on Tuesday to help correct the problem. He was operated on by MotoGP’s favorite Spanish surgeon, Dr. Xavier Mir, who used microsurgery to expand the fascia in the muscles in his right forearm. The surgery was deemed a success, and Pedrosa will be released from hospital tomorrow morning.

Stefan Bradl will be entering hospital for a similar operation just as Pedrosa is returning home. Bradl already had surgery in Barcelona, from the same Dr. Mir, back in 2012, which fixed the problem in the rear part of his arm. Now, however, Bradl is suffering problems in the front of his arm, and is scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday morning in Germany, according to Speedweek.

Both men should be fit for Le Mans, in two weeks time. Having surgery ahead of Le Mans was important, as the French circuit is very heavy on the brakes. This creates a lot of stress for riders’ forearms, causing the muscle fibers to swell up and become trapped inside the fascia (the layer containing the muscle fibers), causing pain and a loss of blood flow.

This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.