[INJURED] Yao to Miss at Least Six Weeks with Non-Displaced Fracture of Right Tibia

Get well, Yao! but not too soon...

 

One game and I miss YAO already, I don't wanna see us being destroyed on theinside game for the next 6 weeks. God, plz send us a decent center.

 

The thing that worries me about a nondisplaced tibial plateau fracture is the high association with avulsion injuries of the capsular and posterior cruciate ligaments. In other words, the ligaments may not be torn but their attachment sites may be disrupted. So even if this fracture heals, its concerning that he may be setting himself for further injury if he returns to full weight bearing activity too quickly.

I just don't feel like we've got the whole story. Just because the fracture isn't seen on an xray doesn't mean it's not severe. Tibial plateau fractures are notorious for being difficult to see.

Considering how the Rockets' doctors mucked up his clearly infected toe last year, I think it's definitely fair to worry here.

 

Yao: No one can f**king stop me!!!!!!!!!

Fracture: I can.

Yao:........

 

Sepctulating isnt going to help you. It could be worsr or better. Patience. We will see.

 

Sounds like you are well versed in orthopedics. But I thought even if x-ray missed the subtle damage, MRI should reveal more?

 

God already sent you the best center, but then got F* jealous and injured him...

 

http://health.msn.com/menshealth/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100150386&GT1=8816

A Broken Bone
How to heal it: Ultrasonic waves.

Ask your doctor for a low-intensity ultrasound device, says Raffy Mirzayan, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and a former assistant team physician for the L.A. Lakers. You strap the palm-size machine to your limb for 20 minutes a day to stimulate growth cells in the broken bone. In a recent study, fractures that normally took 154 days to heal were better in 96.

Time saved: Up to 2 months

 

Suddently everyone on this board becomes doctor, or witch.... Can't believe that you guys think you are more knowledgable than Yao's doctors after you read some articles on web.

 

An MRI is usually pretty good at showing avulsion injuries. Worse comes to worse, they could do some exploratory arthroscopic surgery, which usually only sidelines someone 4 to 6 weeks. (I had a meniscectomy done on November 21st and I'm feeling great right now...can run and everything)

Are avulsion injuries common in the knee? I didn't think they were. It seems like it'd take some major trauma to produce an avulsion injury of the knee. It just seems like the ligaments would snap before an avulsion injury would be produced.

I'm curious to know what part of the tibial plateau is actually broken. Whether it is the Intercondylar Eminence (Tibial Spine), or just the articulating surface. If it's the Spine, it seems like it'd be a worse injury, as it would be more easily displaced. If it's the surface, which is what it seems like to me, it seems like it would be less severe. I'd just be worried about articulating cartilage damage. I'm about 99.9% positive an MRI would rule that out as well. An MRI would also rule out meniscal damage, which would be another concern.

 

Alright, I mean a backup center.

 

Sept.


Oct.


Nov.


Dec.

 

The thing is the reports we have been getting cannot be to specific about the injury becuase of privacy, ticket sales etc. So time will tell.

 

How many doctors do we have on this board? Apparently, several.

 

Chinese Herb and Acupuncture will heal Yao faster than 6 weeks. Ask his Grandpa, Grandpa knows more, Get well soon Big Fella, We Miss You!

 

the last news is Yao will miss at least 8 weeks!!!! Absolutely miss All-Star game.

 

source? link? anything?

 

http://nba.sports.tom.com/2006-12-27/0424/27272092.html

from tom.com

 

Many thanks! Now if I could only get the page to load and read chinese

Who is the source of the article? Trainer? Yao staff? Chinese journalist?

 

I can't believe I'm coming out of lurk mode, but you guys are brutal with your medical commentary on Yao's injury.

Just want to dispel a few rumors/errors for everyone's sanity. . .

Yao (from all reports) has a nondisplaced lateral tibial plateau fracture. If it was displaced - it would require surgery (plate/screws for fixation). High level athletes deem more aggressive intervention - so the fact that they are not operating on it tells you it is in anatomic (or very near anatomic) position. . .and by all accounts will heal fine.

Tibial plateau fractures can be associated with meniscal injuries. They got an MRI and would have been looking closely at his menisci. . .

There is little to no concern of an avulsion of the tibial spine or soft tissues around the knee - this generally happens in kids - not adults. Regardless, would have been seen on MR.

Greenstick fractures are fractures in children - not at all related to this.

They will follow radiographs to monitor healing/bone formation and progress him back to weight bearing/activity as callus forms.

No, Chinese herbs/acupuncture will not help this. They might use ultrasound or some external stimulation which has questionable benefit in decreasing healing time (T Owens used it for his ankle fx) - not much literature to support it but it won't hurt.

The important thing is that this is a bony injury and once healed - should not be a future concern. Soft tissue injuries tend to heal more slowly, take longer to rehab, and can persist (somewhat of a large generalization at the end - but generally true).