make fun of him if you must...but what he said is the way I understood it. He already had the back spasms previously that were set off by the bad fall on the back in Nov. During the Port game, he came down on his tailbone...which setoff this most recent stint. oh....and lets not put too much stock in what some random geek on the ORL board said...for all we know...he is just some kid sitting behind the keyuboard making crap up.....lets not make the mistake of taking it as gospel.....k?
Emjohn: So you are saying McGrady has degenerative disk disease(not terribly serious for an NBA player), but that his bulging disc was caused by a bad fall in a Portland game? Correct if I'm wrong, but this means Tmac would have been in good shape if he hadn't aggravated his injury with that fall. Now the only thing that can help him besides conservative treatments(rest, cortisone shots) is surgery? If this is the case, then he is going to rapidly fall off his prime due to intense rehab, partial recovery from back surgery.
once again , more info on this site then the local sports shows. thanks guys. at least charlie palilo brought it up, the whole portland brought on a different problem is looking more like spin from the rockets organization
But which one did he get the shots for? Did he get shots in his tailbone? If the bulging/herniated disk is a fact, then it will be degenerative also. The two go together. The part that is bulging out will be worn on more and more. I don't need anyone to tell me that. But I think it's a herniated disk, not bulging. Check this out: "A bulging disk occurs naturally from age-related wear and tear of the spine with use. It is almost always painless. A bulging disk may be discovered incidentally on computerized tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) done for some other reason. A bulging disk doesn't require treatment. The same wear and tear that causes bulging can allow the softer, central cartilage of the disk to protrude through a crack in the fibrous ring that surrounds the disk. Doctors refer to this protrusion as a herniated disk. This can be painful. Treatment of a herniated disk may include rest, pain medications, cortisone injections, heat or cold therapy and surgery" http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bulging-disk/AN00272 I think it's all the same problem, and they don't want to say so. But I did find this too: "Surgical treatment for a lumbar herniated disc Using microsurgical techniques (a small operation using a microscope) to treat a lumbar herniated disc, a microdiscectomy can usually be done on an outpatient basis or with an overnight stay in the hospital, and most patients can return to work full duty in one to three weeks. For more information on this procedure, please see Microdiscectomy (microdecompression) back surgery. With an experienced surgeon, the success rate of surgery for a lumbar herniated disc should be about 95%. Usually, only the small portion of the disc (5-8%) that is pushing against the nerve root needs to be excised, and the majority of the disc remains intact." http://www.spine-health.com/topics/cd/overview/lumbar/young/lum01.html So maybe surgery wouldn't be that bad, but then again most people don't play in the NBA.
Honestly I think people here are getting overwhelmed with TMI. The best we can do is wait and see. Other than lots of hysterical speculation from anxious fans here, we really don't have any concrete information about the situation now. So how about we just accept that the season is essentially lost, and hope and pray for T-Mac's back to be healed altogether. All this speculation will do nothing other than raise your collective blood pressures by a few points. Remember when people were posting encyclopedia articles about Yao's condition a few months ago? I wonder if all that speculation helped to speed his recovery.
Thanks for the insight. Keep it coming! Although it sounds bad, it is a relief knowing some specifics of his condition since the press obviously isn't making it a habit of investigating or revealing any real info about his injuries and recovery.
I my opinion, this is the ONLY thing we really need to worry about. If Tmac is healthy, then the Rockets are going to play pretty good. If the Rockets play well, then other players will want to play here and we will be able to sign FA's who can help us. If Tmac's condition continues like it has this season, the Rockets are going to be considered a dead team until Tracy is off the books.
