I hate to quote from a really, really, really, really, really bad 80's commercial, but: I've fallen, but I can't get up! He is in the shop more often than a Fiat and has all of the toughness of a roll of Charmin. Add to it he has a terrible attitude and is a black hole on offense and I really don't have much sympathy for him.
You know what I just noticed about the pic I posted that makes it 1000 times more pathetic? That Vince is laying on the court while an old Hakeem Olajuwon, Horace Grant and Grant Hill are happily sprinting down the court!
what's the difference between vince getting injured and stackhouse, mashburn, or baron davis or grant hill?
Vince - problems center on recurring jumpers knee and related tendonitis and tendon strains. He could recover from these chronic issues if he takes his rehab and training seriously, which he's not known to have done in the past. These could quickly deteriorate his high-flying game, and is very likely a big reason why he's choosen to become more of a jump-shooter in recent years. Derek Anderson is another guy that has become loathe to play explosively because of tendon problems. Stackhouse - typical NBA killer: knee has little cartilage left, leaving him with difficulty enduring the shocks the knee must take in the game. When an NBA guy has a major non-traumatic lower joint injury, be worried. It's like when an NFL lineman or MLB pitcher gets a major shoulder injury. Mashburn - ditto, and is finished because of it. Had microfracture surgery on his knee; which, in laymen's terms, meant they drilled up his knee in hopes that enough scar tissue would form to act as pseudocartilage. Others that had this desparation surgery are Webber, Houston, Penny, and Kidd. It's usually just delaying the envitable. Baron Davis - blew out his knee while at UCLA, hurting his draft position, and had to have surgery on it for torn cartilage (unrelated to the first injury) a couple years ago. Dollars gets you doughnuts that he won't have a long (12+ yr) career as a star because those knees can't have much mileage in them anymore. Recent injuries have been largely due to his weight. Again, player joints are brutalized by all the jumping (more spcifically, landing). The more you weigh, the more impact your joints endure. In BD's case, his back has been the more alarming victim (like Larry Johnson). If he has to have surgery for his vertebral discs, he'll never be the same. Grant Hill - problems were centered on the actual bones of his ankle joint. After he made the ill-fated decision to play on a stress-fractured ankle, his surgery reset the bones, but incorrectly. This haunted him and prevented successfull comebacks until (a year and a half ago) the doctors reshaped the joint. Now he's 'back'. He'll be plagued by arthritis in the joint and is unlikely to be an 82 game guy again, but he may make it through the life of his contract. Evan
Maybe this is the wrong place but I'll take advantage of knowledge where I can. Evan What's your take on a torn acl in general? This is a bit personal but its just that Doctor's tend to be a little less than totally frank.
For an NBA player in general? It's not good, but it beats a deterioration injury (no more cartilage, deginerated disc, etc). Partial ACL tears are actually worse, IMHO, because it'll be weakened and almost certainly tear before long. When a torn ACL is replaced, they cut out a french fry like cartilage donor from another site (quad tendon normally), and have to anchor the ends in with biodegradable screws. Eventually, the bone will seal around the cartilage and (ideally) hold as well as before. The truth is, it won't be as strong as before. The good thing is, it's not an injury that will take away from a player's game after the rehab is done. Unlike lost cartilage where the player is able to do less and less because of worsening pain. You don't get that with a replaced ACL. The long term problems to watch for are: -->a retear. The replacement won't be as strong as the original, so if you do the same thing (extremely hard stop), it'll happen again. -->Other damage from the initial trauma. It's typical that an ACL tear is accompanied by MCL, PCL, or menisical tears. If the trauma was hard enough, knee cartilage could be roughened, requiring a scope. If this happened to you or a friend, there's even less to worry about. It's like a dislocated shoulder in that it'll be easier for it to recur, but it won't really prevent you from doing the same things after the fact. An Achilles rupture is far more limiting in the long term. Evan
Thx a bunch Evan Yes it happened to me, Doctor said I'll be able to lace them up again on Jan 5. It wasn't even a hard stop, in a full court situation I faked one way and went the other and my knee gave out. My screw isn't biodegradable my doctor said he doesn't trust those.
Interesting. Out of curiousty, where are you going (not who, unless you want to say)? I worked for a couple of orthopods in the Med Center a little ways back. On a side note, being in the room to watch a hip replacement is quite an experience. The blood flies. Flies. Not for the squeamish. Evan
It's called the Southwest Bone & Joint Clinic P.A. The Memorial Hermann Health Center in Sugar Land and my Doctor is named Hicks.
