A medical question that is very relevant right now...

This is Yao's third consecutive season that ended because of a fractured bone.

Not good at all...

 

give Yao a legit backup center and then we'll talk percentages

 

'cuz it's about his left foot again, I doubt if he'd suffer from this the rest of his career.

 

Right now guys you can compare him to are Alonzo Mourning and Brad Daugherty.

Alonzo had a different medical problem, but Daugherty would be the most accurate one. Not to mention he was never appreciated until he was retired, sadly that will be the same for Yao.

 

2nd. 3 years ago it was the Utah Jazz that ended Yao's season. He broke his knee earlier midway season when Tim Thomas dove into his leg, but he came.

At least get your facts straight if you're going to post the same thing in every thread.

 

Sorry, I found it on rotoworld and it said it was his 3rd consecutive season.

 

Yao Ming, basketball player. A man barely walking. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Yao Ming will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster.

 

What did you think of my post? and that's a good optimistic post though.

 

My answer was in the response. Doctors can insert more rods and screws into his foot and it will strengthen the tarsals. We've come a long way from the days of Bill Walton. Technology will be the difference.

 

From what I, seen of all these injuries is they are all fluke's or stress type injuries.

Neither of those can really be "prepared for" or truly "prevented."

I truly think the reason for the constant injuries for Yao is the fact that he is 7 ft 6 inches and weighs 300 pounds. It does not matter if you play 20 min a game of 40 minutes a game, the pressure of all that weight and where it stress the bones is completely different for someone that size rather than the average sized person. It is nearly impossible to predict how the stresses work, where they fall, etc. because you cannot get any sample size large enough to try to determine it.

Add to the fact that he is playing basketball, a sport that is really fast & physical, and involves other players who are very athletic and strong, it is really difficult to know where or when they will step on you, kick you, run into you, etc.

I will give you that since he has played basketball on some professional level for roughly 10 yrs (not sure on exact #). And that will increase the stress and wear on the joints. Athletes who play professional sports such as basketball, football, tennis, soccer, baseball, volleyball, etc. have all shown to have skeletal systems and joints that tend to age quicker (osteoarthritis).

Basically, I'm saying it is in his genes and physical work up. There is not much you really can do but hope.

(You seem to want credentials, so I'll tell you that I am a 4th year Medical Student)

 

A stress fracture is serious, but full recovery is definately possible over certain precautions.

Think of it like having your tire alignment messed up on your car. Your tires are going to wear out much more quickly, but if you don't drive as much, you will be fine.

When Yao comes back healthy next year, he will be able to play 100%. We should however do the following:

1- have him take off the second game to a back to back every other back to back series.

2- Not play in the all star game

3- limit his time on his feet in practice

4- give him more breaks in the game (not neccessarily less minutes)


Is it possible to have Yao last 82 games plus playoffs? Yes, but the above needs to be used. A backup center is very important this offseason.



Another thing that needs to be looked into is some sort of medical brace to be worn every other game or something. You DO NOT want it worn all the time, otherwise ligaments get weak and the foot will get weak as well and the likelihood of an injury will increase, but if oyu wear it occasionally it will dramatically decrease the stress on the injury.

 

i agree...he needs to lighten up the workload all year round.

the guy just doesnt say anything and plays through pain til its too late

 

The best comparison is Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who's closer to Yao's height and missed most of 3 consecutive seasons with broken foot problems. Yet they finally got them sorted out and he's been free of those types of injuries for the last several years.

I had an in-depth post on it a year or so ago -- I'll try to dig it up.

 

Look at who Z has playing with him.

Ben Wallace 4x DPOY and Varejao Flopper of the year.

 

Can we get him better shoes with inserts please?

DD

 

He was injury free for a couple of years before any of those guys came along.

I can't dig up that old thread -- search seems to be turned off. Maybe later.

 

Maybe I'm recalling it wrong, but I remember a little after we lost the Utah series two seasons ago, when Yao got abused by Boozer, Yao admitted he was bothered by his foot and could not play his best.

According to Yao's entry in wikipedia, he's been having foot troubles and had surgey in his mid-teens. If this is correct, Yao has a long history of foot-related injuries.