A question for all the old timers?

It is happening with more and more frequency in all sports. I think (therefore I am ) that most, if not all, players lift weights all year round, and the wear and tear on their bodies is the cause for some of the muscle and ligament damage. Another cause is that the players are bigger, stronger and faster. When these bodies collide, tendons and ligaments will tear and bones will break.

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When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view.
-- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

 

I think it's because the game is much more physical now. Sure, you here stories about how Bill Russell ruled the paint and slapped any guard who dared to enter, but Russell was not built like Anthony Mason or Karl Malone.

Just a thought.


(And why am I answering this? I'm not an old-timer )

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Behad
Sergeant at Arms of the Clutch BBS

 

One other thought, medical technology has come a long way, so what seemed like just a sore elbow back in the day can be more accurately diagnosed as a potentially serious injury.

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The Rockets will be the NBA champions. Believe.

 

I'm sure it has nothing to do with the bank they are making now. Heavier wallets make for chronic lower back problems, high ankle sprains, and the perpetual reoccurring strained voice box.

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In the end there will be no judges...only witnesses to my greatness.

 

I'm not sure that is accurate. Has Cato been injured any more than Sam Bowie was? How about Bill Walton? We have more players playing longer now than ever before. Hakeem, Stockton, Malone and Ewing just to name a few all have more than 15 years. Their are others as well such as Kevin Willis and Otis Thorpe. Once upon a time players seldom played past 10 or 12 years. I do think you might see more nagging injuries do to the fact that the game is much more physical now than 20 years ago. But I don't see players as being any more fragil. Also you have to remember that due to the high saleries teams are much more concerned with the possibility of career threatening injuries now as apposed to 20 years ago.

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More physical now than in the past?

K Washington
D Dawkins
M Lucas
Mahorn
Cartwright
McHale
Silas
A Gilmore
Unseld


Mango



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Spring Cleaning!!!

 

Players are far more cautious with their bodies these days.

Little aches and pains are taken seriously, with as much money as there is floating around out there, can you blame them?

DaDakota

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If Mankind evolved from monkeys and apes, then why are there still monkeys and apes?

 

It's true that the game is more physical than it used to be. But there are other reasons why more athletes sit out due to pain. The #1 change in society over these years has been technology, and medicine has been a big part of that. Team doctors and trainers have become far more prevalent, important, and sophisticated than they used to be. That means some injuries that used to be career-ending can now be fixed, some that used to take a year to heal can now be fixed and heal within weeks, and other injuries that used to be ignored or brushed off are now taken very seriously. In the latter case, the doctors project a return schedule, monitor the athlete, and tell the team when it's safe for the athlete to resume playing.

As for sitting out the All-Star game while you're recovering from an injury, I'm all for it. The AS game is an increasingly obvious joke. I want Steve Francis healthy to play for the team that's paying him.

 

Allen Iverson doesn't sound so good when you consider that if he hit a weight room in the offseason once in a while he wouldn't be playing with so many injuries. He reported to camp some 20lbs under what the 76ers wanted.


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The Rockets will be the NBA champions. Believe.

 

Will is definitely right about the technology of medicine. Another important factor is that players ARE more athletic. As a result, they get in far more awkward and potentially dangerous situations. How many guys in the 70's jumped as high as Vince Carter? Well, there were guys that did but not nearly as many as there are today.

Another concern I've seen voiced by some is the age at which kids begin weight training. It is beginning so early that there are concerns by many doctors and physical fitness experts that their bodies are being pushed too hard too soon. That could also be a concern.

Finally, there has been an increase in the average age men reach puberty from around 12 twenty years ago to around 14 1/2 now. That change is being attributed to the increase of female hormones fed to dairy cattle and passed on into the milk and cheese they produce. Women's age of puberty has dropped nearly 5 years since the early 70's when progesterone and other female hormones were first introduced into dairy cattle and the reverse has happened with men and boys but not quite to the extreme degree as women/girls.

The combination of these things has created greater risk for athletes and injury and the advanced diagnosis we are seeing has forced some players to the bench when they don't want to be there. After all, teams have to protect their investments.

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Me fail English? That's unpossible.

[This message has been edited by Jeff (edited February 12, 2001).]