Bledsoe out for the year?

[Mainstreet]

The PGs just keep dropping. Jrue Holiday is reportedly out with a fractured ankle.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10273920/new-orleans-pelicans-jrue-holiday-fractured-ankle

 

[PDXChris]

I'm not totally sure what a full repair versus a quick repair means, but if a full repair prolongs the longevity of the player, I'm for this option. My understanding a quick repair removes more meniscus, which IMO, is not the way to go.

A quick fix cuts out the tear, while a rull repair reattaches it. With the quick fix, it can tear more often and limit mobility, while the full repair is suppose to eliminate that.

 

[Superbone]

My understanding is that surgery is happening today and we should know more details afterward.

 

[Superbone]

In fact, here ya go:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/suns-g-bledsoe-successful-surgery-172416606--nba.html

Bledsoe will immediately begin rehabbing the knee and may possibly return sometime during the second half of this season.

 

[Mainstreet]

Also Paul Coro on twitter:

Paul Coro ‏@paulcoro 58m

The #Suns say Bledsoe had surgery on right knee meniscus & "will pursue a possible return to action during the 2nd half of this NBA season."

https://twitter.com/paulcoro

 

[Griffin]

So he "may possibly" return this season. That doesn't sound too encouraging. Normally there's some kind of a timetable. Perhaps we'll know more later.

 

[AzStevenCal]

So he "may possibly" return this season. That doesn't sound too encouraging. Normally there's some kind of a timetable. Perhaps we'll know more later.

Agreed but I'm hoping those comments are just the off-the-cuff stuff from the people that need/want to be first to the story. Hopefully sometime today we'll get a much more revealing explanation about the extent of the injury, the surgery, the recovery process and the short and long term outlook.

Steve

 

[az jam]

John Gambadoro ‏@Gambo987
Bledsoe will return this season because his meniscus was removed not repaired. So 4-6 week to return.

 

[AzStevenCal]

John Gambadoro ‏@Gambo987
Bledsoe will return this season because his meniscus was removed not repaired. So 4-6 week to return.

Well, a quick return but I've read that this will often shorten a player's career (arthritis, tendonitis, bone bruises etc.). I know that Dwayne Wade certainly regrets having his removed. Oh well, hope for the best but realistically he will likely have to deal with this decision throughout his career.

Steve

 

[sunsfan88]

Does it? I'm pretty sure his agent is going to point to the Suns performance with Bledsoe versus the Suns without. If we go from arguably the 7th best team in the league to the 12th best team in the West he's going to have some ammunition to back up his demand. I really don't know how that will play out especially since we all heard the rumors of max contract demands even before Bledsoe had stepped on the court as a Phoenix Sun.

Steve

Being that this is the 2nd time Bledsoe has had meniscus problems in his same knee (right), this will all but eliminate his chances of getting a max offer.

Teams are now aware and don't want an Eric Gordon or Amare situation again.

 

[sunsfan88]

The surgery was performed in Phoenix.

Bledsoe will immediately begin a recovery and rehabilitation program and will pursue a possible return to action during the second half of this NBA season.

Bledsoe has averaged 18.0 points, 5.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 24 games this season, his first with the Suns.

.

 

[sunsfan88]

Well, a quick return but I've read that this will often shorten a player's career (arthritis, tendonitis, bone bruises etc.). I know that Dwayne Wade certainly regrets having his removed. Oh well, hope for the best but realistically he will likely have to deal with this decision throughout his career.

Steve

I have a bit of a medical background and if he took out the meniscus, that's very concerning IMO. With Bledsoe's style of play, I would say that this could prove to be very threatening to his career.

I really hope Gambo is wrong otherwise Bledsos needs to tamper his style of play. More shooting, less driving and getting hit and falling down in the paint.

 

[PDXChris]

Well, a quick return but I've read that this will often shorten a player's career (arthritis, tendonitis, bone bruises etc.). I know that Dwayne Wade certainly regrets having his removed. Oh well, hope for the best but realistically he will likely have to deal with this decision throughout his career.

Steve

Yup, Rose said he went the route he did because of Wade.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Yup, Rose said he went the route he did because of Wade.

On the plus side Wade had that surgery before he was even out of college and has managed to have a good career to this point. He is in his 11th season and still has a fair amount of explosiveness left in that knee. Also I believe that a lot of these procedures have come a long way in the last 12 or so years since Wade had that procedure done. Ultimately looking at Wade's situation might actually give some of us hope when it comes to Bledsoe's future.

 

[sunsfan88]

On the plus side Wade had that surgery before he was even out of college and has managed to have a good career to this point. He is in his 11th season and still has a fair amount of explosiveness left in that knee. Also I believe that a lot of these procedures have come a long way in the last 12 or so years since Wade had that procedure done. Ultimately looking at Wade's situation might actually give some of us hope when it comes to Bledsoe's future.

Wade's had a VERY injury riddled career though because of that knee.

 

[Mainstreet]

I have a bit of a medical background and if he took out the meniscus, that's very concerning IMO. With Bledsoe's style of play, I would say that this could prove to be very threatening to his career.

I really hope Gambo is wrong otherwise Bledsos needs to tamper his style of play. More shooting, less driving and getting hit and falling down in the paint.

I listened to Gambo on the radio. He sounded very matter of fact, like he knew the situation and was not speculating.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Being that this is the 2nd time Bledsoe has had meniscus problems in his same knee (right), this will all but eliminate his chances of getting a max offer.

Teams are now aware and don't want an Eric Gordon or Amare situation again.

I doubt that. The effect of this surgery is a quicker recovery and less continuing problems in the near future (next 3 years or so). It has the potential to shorten his long term career (6-7 years in the future) but that will be beyond whatever contract he gets this summer.

I assume the meniscus was too badly damaged to repair. I know they do meniscus transplants that take about 6 months of recovery, but I am not sure whether that is an option for a professional athlete.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Wade's had a VERY injury riddled career though because of that knee.

He hasn't missed many games outside of a couple seasons and I know one of the years that he missed extended time was due to a shoulder injury I believe. Of course it's not ideal, but some other players have had it removed as well such as Blake Griffin and Chris Paul.

 

[sunsfan88]

John Gambadoro ‏@Gambo987
Bledsoe will return this season because his meniscus was removed not repaired. So 4-6 week to return.

I listened to Gambo on the radio. He sounded very matter of fact, like he knew the situation and was not speculating.

I think they only removed the torn area of the meniscus and left the rest of it intact.

Taking out the entire meniscus in a young athlete's knees is very risky. Not only would it feel really when even doing something as simply as jogging but its also weakens your knees. IMO you also become at least a bit slower if they take out the entire meniscus.

 

[sunsfan88]

He hasn't missed many games outside of a couple seasons and I know one of the years that he missed extended time was due to a shoulder injury I believe. Of course it's not ideal, but some other players have had it removed as well such as Blake Griffin and Chris Paul.

Yea but CP3 doesn't rely on his athleticism as much as a guy like Bledsoe does. Paul is more like Nash in the sense that he uses more of his basketball IQ, shooting ability and passing ability to make plays rather than his athleticism.

I believe Griffin did not have his entire meniscus removed, only the torn part of it.

 

[sunsfan88]

A brief recent history of meniscus injuries in the NBA:

http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/sto...de-rumors-torn-meniscus-blake-griffin-russel/

Pretty good read for those interested. Bledsoe is mentioned in that article.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Here is a quote from a research article on the results of meniscus removal:

The results following meniscectomy may be influenced by athletic activity. Jorgensen et al64 reviewed 147 athletes after meniscectomy for isolated meniscal injuries and found that radiological deterioration started after 4.5 years. After 14.5 years, 89% of athletes had radiological evidence of degeneration, and 46% had given up or reduced their sporting activity. These values are higher than would be expected for the general population.

Hoshikawa et al71 reported that none of 68 active patients had to give up sports at a mean of 4.5 years after meniscectomy. However, international-class athletes fared worse in both clinical and radiological evaluation than did recreational athletes. International-level volleyball players had particularly poor results.

Roos et al72 found a significant influence of the levels of sporting activity after meniscectomy. In 286 football players, the rate of arthritis in the knee was 1.6% in controls, 4.2% in non-elite players and 15.5% in elite participants.

http://www.bjj.boneandjoint.org.uk/content/88-B/12/1549.long

So, the basic idea is that, depending upon the amount of meniscus removed, there is a potential increase in the risk of arthritis, with the possible onset being about 5 years in the future depending upon activity level. Again, this is only a increase in risk. I assume football players are soccer players in this article because it is from the UK.

I would also imagine that volleyball players and basketball players have similar wear and tear.

 

[elindholm]

"Meniscectomy," heh.

 

[jandaman]

It really does depend on how much chunk of the meniscus was removed...

Athletes with almost all or All meniscus removed and are highly active are very likely to suffer arthritis on the knees.. Bone to bone grinding is no good... Look at Brandon Roy.


If only the torn portion is removed... Assuming there is some more padding left to cushion the bones then it may be OK.. But depends on location and how the surgeon can protect the edges of the cut out portion... It's like a thick rubber gasket.. Or rubber washer... Some tear on it is okay but if a big chunk is removed then that portion has less padding obviously.
The knee bones are subjected to a lot of compression and twisting motions too... So padding is critical..

 

[Folster]

It really does depend on how much chunk of the meniscus was removed...

Athletes with almost all or All meniscus removed and are highly active are very likely to suffer arthritis on the knees.. Bone to bone grinding is no good... Look at Brandon Roy.


If only the torn portion is removed... Assuming there is some more padding left to cushion the bones then it may be OK.. But depends on location and how the surgeon can protect the edges of the cut out portion... It's like a thick rubber gasket.. Or rubber washer... Some tear on it is okay but if a big chunk is removed then that portion has less padding obviously.
The knee bones are subjected to a lot of compression and twisting motions too... So padding is critical..

Roy is a bad example as the meniscus was the least of his problems
He had degenerative arthritis in his knees. From everything I read, Bledsoe should be be fine, for the next five or so years. Issues may arise later in his thirties much like Wade. Luckily he is 25 and a five year contract should be low risk signing. But you never know.