Kate Powers didn’t think much of it.
When she threw the discus or hammer last year as part of her training regimen, her right elbow popped in and out of its socket. Powers couldn t fully extend or bend her primary elbow.
“I knew it wasn’t a normal thing and that I had to get it checked out,” said Powers, a junior at Hopkinton High School.
The elbow verdict: Synovial chondromatosis. Bone chips. Fourteen of them were removed from her right elbow in a three-hour surgery on Dec. 9, 2020.
Days into her six-week rehab, Powers, who is right-handed, watched her Hopkinton High indoor track and field teammates perform planks at practice. She sat on the sideline with her right arm in a sling. The junior captain and tosser-of-weights didn’t want to lead from the bench. She felt out of the loop.