The patellar tendon is a pretty large piece of connective tissue and doesn't often get severly injured. It connects the patella (knee cap) to the tibia, the larger bone in the lower leg. It isn't nearly as fragile as the ACL or MCL. It's kinda like the achillies - a big solid piece of fascia. Anyway, the most common serious injury to the patellar tendon is a rupture and that is pretty serious. The most common minor injury is patellar tendonitis or swelling of the tendon. A sprain is worse than a strain, but a minor version of a sprain shouldn't be too bad and because it's an injury to the patellar tendon, there is probably very little chance of it becoming more serious. There are plenty of good rehab exercises to help manage injuries to the patellar tendon, so no biggie. On Keith Jones and the "culture of training" around the Rockets, you guys have obviously never seen pro athletes work before. Check with ANY major sports organization and it is the SAME THING. These guys just do not have the same level of work eithic on the whole as they used to. There are guys who are very dedicated, but you cannot force them to do what you tell them to. Trainers are mostly there for guidance and to fix injuries, but they can't force grown men, let alone multi-million dollar athletes, to do everything they say. That is just the way it is in pro sports.
Oh, I should have added on the patellar tendon injury, the reason he is likely day-to-day is that a sprain has a tendency to swell. The less swelling he has, the less of a problem it will be for him. If he has some swelling, he just has to rest it and ice it a bunch. He's probably taking anti-inflammatories, so he should be ok.
Thanks for the insight Jeff. On a similar note, what happened to DallasRocket. Wasn't he a doctor or something.
Thanks a bunch Jeff and everyone else with info. Like Invisible Fan said, let's hope it's not a recurring problem and he's back soon. He's a good influence for all the young players we have and has a ring, but it's hard to be influential on the court if your in street clothes. I've begun to be really intrigued by what Rice can bring this year. In the pictures from the open practice Rice looked really good, especially compared to what little we saw last year. There's always the possibility he could play again at a pretty high level. Dream certainly did for a stretch last season. We could use one good year from Rice. It would be luck greater than we could have hoped. Like Yao.
Now that's a relief, If that was only tendon that needs or require a day by day type of thing. I wonder if Kenny will be ready on the opening night!!
Jeff, are you sure that it connects the patella to the tibia? I only ask because I thought that tendons connect muscle to bone, not bone to bone like ligaments do...
I know it's wierd. It is one of the acceptions to the rule and mainly because it is attached to the knee cap AND to the fascia above the knee known as the quadraceps tendon. Here's a pic to illustrate: <img src="http://www.arthroscopy.com/nucleus/Knee2.jpg">
Okay, illuminate me Jeff. Is there a reason you know so much about Rice's knee? You even have friggin pictures!!
JR asked about this a while back. I had a couple of fairly severe injuries in my 20's. As a result, I developed a rather keen interest in motion-related injuries and that includes sports injuries. I had to rehab mine quite a bit plus I have my licence in massage therapy which requires a LOT of study of anatomy and physiology. During the times I was injured and during my studies, I paid close attention to sports injuries, the way they rehabbed them and what they did to repair them. It just seemed fascinating to me that a torn/ruptured achillies 10 years ago was the end of a career and, today, it's between 12 and 18 months of rehab from being like new. By the way, the diagram was the FIRST search entry that came up when I typed "patellar tendon" in Google, so either you guys are search-engine impaired or just lazy.
What is this google you speak of? Quit trying to make yourself sound less of a badass Jeff. I know you just did that by memory in wordpaint or something. Oh yeah, I feel for Rice, but don't think he should hurry back if it'll lead to more tweakiness.
Rice tweaks knee, may miss 2 games By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich could not help but fear the worst. Glen Rice had landed wrong on a jump shot and immediately grabbed his right knee, the same knee that cost him most of last season. Recent experiences have given Tomjanovich reason to be jumpy when watching his players limp. Last season's pains were still too fresh to be forgotten. With the deadline to set the roster and injured list rapidly approaching Monday, Rice was rushed to an MRI test to determine the extent of the injury. But this time the news was relatively good: a strained patella tendon. Rice is questionable to play in the Rockets' season opener or on Friday in Denver, but the injury was not serious enough to return him to the injured list. The ranks at forward, however, did get alarmingly thin. Kenny Thomas is doubtful to play Wednesday with a fractured thumb, but he plans to practice Thursday and play Friday. Terence Morris was placed on the injured list with a sprained left ankle. Maurice Taylor is suspended for the first five games. Center Kelvin Cato became ill and had to leave Monday's practice, while Yao Ming has had to care for his right ankle that he sprained at the Asian Games. Eddie Griffin is the only Rockets forward expected to be in the rotation who will even be able to play. "It's not an ideal situation, and it's getting worse," Tomjanovich said. "Kenny won't play. Of course, Mo can't play the first five games. Terence is a ways away. We're really, really, really short at the forward positions. It's not a good way to start the season. "That is really amazing. At a place we thought we had so many guys, three guys at the same position are out, and a fourth hopefully will be better soon." The Rockets set their roster for the start of the season by placing Morris, Tito Maddox (plantar fasciaitis) and Pete Mickeal (sore right foot) on the injured list and releasing second-year point guard Tierre Brown. The Rockets' forward ranks have grown so thin that Yao has gone from trying to learn everyone's name to being a key player. Asked how Yao will be used, Tomjanovich said: "I don't even know what my team is. He might be playing the whole front line."
I just want to chip in a bit. God bless google, it's made my internet searching MUCH easier and more comfortable. Ok, carry on.
Wow we're thin up front right now. Griffin, Ming, Cato, Collier and Nachbar are going to all have to step up. I wonder if Pete Mickeal will be available to play, he's put on the IL I think. Hawkins can step in and produce. The Rockets should win the first 2 games, Indiana is more banged up then the Rockets, and Houston should blast Denver. After that Rice will be back. Lets tread water for the next 5 games, get Mo and KT back. If Ming can learn the system faster and produce decently for the next few games then we can more then make up for the losses, but that's a big if.
Rice should not be someone that the Rockets count on...he should be reduced to an Eddie Johnson type role. Instant offense. The Rocks have plenty of 6'7" guys who can play SF...KT, Nachbar, Hawkins etc...etc... Since the SF is not the focus of the offense, I don't see this as a problem. One more thing. Rudy always whines about stuff like this and lack of practice time...ALWAYS !! DD
I suspect Moochie Stevie and Cat will be on the court to gether alot... with Collier playing some significant power forward minutes... Nachbar will get some minutes but Mobley and Francis again will have to carry the burden.
Rice isn't the future, anyway, I mean, this is bad, but shouldn't really affect the season if B-Nashbar is for real
