Yao Ming to have microfracture surgery, his shoes may be partial cause of the injury

only ghetto stars like Iverson chooses Reebok and Reebok did the worst thing to market his kicks: showing his ghettoness with tattoos and raps.
it took them so freakin long to come up with a yao signature kicks when its obvious that yao is one of the biggest stars in NBA.
complete marketing failure

 

oh nooooooo Yao ming will lose all his jumping abilities.

 

In other words he won't lose anything?

 

The "microfracture" surgery comment is either an error in translation or Yao has two injuries. I suspect it was an error in translation. You can have microfracture surgery in your ankle but has nothing to do with navicular stress fractures.

This is an injury Yao should be able to return to 100% activity level without future problems . . . .not at all like microfracture surgery for cartilage defects. Overuse injuries in large athletes can predispose to other injuries in the future . . . but this injury itself will not limit his career.

Last, this injury has nothing to do with his shoes. . . . but everything to do with his size and activity level.

 

According to the following sina.com article dated March 2,

http://sports.sina.com.cn/k/2008-03...373506182.shtml

Yao Ming's microfracture surgery is now scheduled for March 3 (Monday) at the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, and the surgeon will be Tom Clanton, Houston Rockets' team physician. Tom Clanton is one of the top US orthopaedic specialists/surgeons who had done numerous such surgery for athletes, including Grant Hill.

 

man you forgot about his sticker dunk already?

 

Team Yao is a freaking joke. He has had problems with his shoes for years. WTF Reebok just screwed Yao's feet.

Oh man that makes me want to buy your shoes.

 

Oh no...Grant Hill? How many times did this guy break down after multiple surgeries? I guess it's going to take the PHX Suns medical staff to get Yao playing at a high level...

 

idk, this is yao's 2nd major surgery. i guess we'll have to see how he responds next yr.

but it's not looking good for yao's career if this keeps happening

 

Yao's injury is due to many factors. It's from bad shoes(on and off court). Over training(for a large person) and training that's putting too much stress on the feet.

 

Yi is sucking big time now...last game he played 10 minutes got no points, 1 board and 1 TO...Hopes for him to be the next Dirk Nowitzki are falling down...

 

I know little of medicine but I would think a knee microfracture surgery would be harder to rehab from since it's a joint. Yao's injury will equally prevent him from putting any load on his leg for a while, but once it's healed he won't have to rehab the joint and get his range of motion back. The bone spurs will, however, force him to rehab that ankle, but it doesn't sound as serious, maybe he can do it while the microfracture surgery is still healing?

 

Man, the doctors are adding all kinds of bells and whistles to this surgery.

While they are at it, whey don't they just add




for him, too?

 

So Yao signs a multi mil$ deal with Reebok and they can't even provide him with proper footwear? This is a joke! If Yao went to a pediatrist, I'm sure he would've gotten the proper footwear!

 

Team Yao is a failure, they are more concerned about milking $$ from their cash cow than his health

 

Have to agree Reeboks suck. I have never had a pair of Reeboks that fit right. Nikes are the way to go.

 

What jumping ability?

 

Didn't Yao turn down more money from nike because they disrespected him or something like that?

 

well, they will put the screws in and clean up the spurs which are no big deal. Maybe they should fix the other foot as well, i'd imagine it's probably prone to the same injury.

Anyway, they really need to fix his shoes. Foot wear is so critical to a basketball player and preventing stress type of injuries. Anywone who thinks it doesn't matter hasn't played sports.

 

Why would they change the shoes if they were perfect? That's what's implied by the article. The shoes are not good for his type of foot.

Last season, JVG had a public criticism of Yao's shoe company (Reebok) to the point that Yao's agent had to be involved. I am sure if the shoe was to blame, Yao or his agent would not come out and say it and trash his sponsor.

I am surprised no one mentioned that the shoe thing was a big deal last year.

Here it is. JVG was prophetic.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl...kn/4242600.html

Shoes blamed for Yao's toe woes
Van Gundy says Reebok has failed to solve problem


By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
OCt 7, 2006
AUSTIN — With Yao Ming's sore left big toe keeping him off the court Friday, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy pointed directly at the culprit he suspected of causing Yao's ongoing problems.

It's got to be the shoes.

"This is a reoccurring issue with Yao's feet, and he's not getting the shoe on time from Reebok," Van Gundy said. "He is not getting the shoe fitted properly so he doesn't have reoccurring issues with his toe and feet. Yao's got to be more demanding of this company. He's not getting the results he wants. It puts him at risk.

"It's the same issue here this year. Nothing's changed. It's problematic. Some things can't be prevented. This one I think can be with more attention to detail on the shoe he's getting from the company that really should care about him."

Yao, who along with the Philadelphia 76ers' Allen Iverson is one of Reebok's top athlete-endorsers, missed Friday's practice and will sit out today's workout with a bruised left big toe.

Rockets trainer Keith Jones said Yao could return to practice Monday.

Reebok officials, however, said the shoes being redesigned for Yao are not late and that he is playing in the ATR Pump shoes he prefers with the revisions he wanted.

"The product guys here at Reebok work very closely, not only with Yao but with all our athletes to make sure the products they wear are sufficient to perform in," Reebok spokeswoman Denise Kaigler said. "The feedback taken is very specific and incorporated into the product."

Reebok's Kevin Leary, who works specifically with Yao, said the Rockets' center, like most big men, requested the collar of his shoe be raised with stiffer foam. If Yao's problems had been caused by sliding inside the shoe, Leary said the stiffer, higher collar might have prevented the foot moving within the shoe but that he did not know the nature of the injury or its cause.

Yao lost the nail on the toe last October, leading to an infection and eventually to surgery Dec. 19. He missed 21 games because of the condition. He missed the season's final four games after breaking his left foot.

Yao has used a variety of orthotics and linings in his shoes, but because of the injuries on both sides of his foot, the fit is particularly crucial.


'Repetitive thing'
"This is a repetitive thing," Van Gundy said. "It plagued him last year and cost us dearly. We're staring down the same thing. Someone has to step forward, take control and get it corrected. It's important for the Rockets, important for Yao Ming and important for Yao's teammates. It's problematic. It's a huge concern, and it's disappointing.

"Last year started the same way. We never got it right, and ultimately he had to have surgery. Anybody who dismisses this as something minor is overlooking the bigger problem. Why does this continue to happen? Why don't we solve this issue yet? Somebody has to step forward with Yao's best interest at heart."

Yao developed his most recent problem during Wednesday's morning practice but practiced again that night and the next morning. No Reebok representative has been to the Rockets' training camp since the problems began, although Leary said he would have been in Austin if the Rockets had requested he make the trip.

Yao's agent, John Huizinga, who is the primary contact for Yao with Reebok, said he does not believe Yao's current foot problem is related to his shoes.

"The fact of the matter is, he is wearing the same shoes now he wore all through the World Championships," Huizinga said. "It doesn't have much to do with the current situation. He is wearing his favorite shoes, the ones he loves the most.

"They continually try to adapt the shoes to whatever is going on at the time. I'm not saying nothing could be done to make them better. I'm saying I don't think shoes are inherently the problem. I don't know where Jeff is coming from. Maybe he (Yao) is allergic to Jeff Van Gundy. For him to pick out the shoes, I don't know what he's talking about."

Yao tried shoes this summer in Shanghai and sent them back for several revisions. He had yet to receive the newest pair through Friday's practices.

Huizinga said he "shares Jeff's frustration," but he said opponents have routinely stomped Yao's foot as a way to defend against him and that the toenail has been damaged so often it does not grow in correctly.


Going heavy-duty
"You could have him out there in steel work boots," Huizinga said. "But they're big and they're heavy and it's tough to play basketball in them. If a part of your body is injured enough, it takes awhile to come back."

Yao had blood drained from underneath the nail Wednesday. He is being treated with antibiotics to prevent infection, although there is no sign of one yet.

"It's not serious at all," Jones said. "A couple of days, he's going to be fine. We're just playing it smart."

Van Gundy, however, called for more preventive action.

"Yao has to take a vested interest in being so demanding it gets solved," Van Gundy said.