Gurley to have knee re-check with DR. Andrews

[RamFan503]

A list From Twitter....and this is way incomplete because I dont see any Dodgers on it. Dr Andrews is credited with perfecting Tommy John surgury. Frank Jobe, the former Dodgers team doctor, is credited with inventing the elbow ligament replacement procedure that saved Tommy Johns career, but James Andrews was a Jobe protege and is widely considered the one perfected it.

Andrews' list of patients include Carlos Beltran, C.C. Sabathia, Jamaal Charles, Tom Brady,[7]Albert Pujols, Matt Harvey, Michael Jordan, Jack Nicklaus, Emmitt Smith, John Smoltz, Troy Aikman, Ivan Nova, Josh Johnson, Charles Barkley, Roger Clemens, Drew Brees,[8] Reggie Bush, Andrei Markov, Bo Jackson, Adrian Peterson, Hope Solo, Marcus Lattimore, Robert Griffin III, Brett Favre, Ryan Broyles, Rajon Rondo, Mark Sanchez, Michael Morse, Jonny Venters, Nerlens Noel, Rickie Weeks, Sam Bradford, Braxton Miller, Dave Batista, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, John Cena, Edge, Randy Orton, CM Punk, Matt Moore, Tiger Woods, Lindsey Vonn,[9] Brian Cushing, Navorro Bowman, Kiko Alonso, Rob Gronkowski,[10] Alex Cobb, and Dante Fowler .

Man - I hate to say it but there are a crap load on that list that didn't last very long after surgery. Andrews is a great surgeon and is way ahead of most anyone in medical advances. I think Gurley will do quite well as he is only 20 years old and had the best surgeon available. That still doesn't mean he is best served by getting put back in before his strength is at NFL level. He may very well have no problems. I can't hope for that enough.

I want to win right out of the gate as much as anyone. But I also see Mason and Benny and think we don't exactly have a weak backfield. Gurley will be a real strength at that position - I'm convinced. I only hope that if he plays week one, we are not doing it out of urgency rather than what is best for the potential future star RB of our Rams. This kid has future stud written all over him.

 

[…..]

Man - I hate to say it but there are a crap load on that list that didn't last very long after surgery. Andrews is a great surgeon and is way ahead of most anyone in medical advances. I think Gurley will do quite well as he is only 20 years old and had the best surgeon available. That still doesn't mean he is best served by getting put back in before his strength is at NFL level. He may very well have no problems. I can't hope for that enough.

I want to win right out of the gate as much as anyone. But I also see Mason and Benny and think we don't exactly have a weak backfield. Gurley will be a real strength at that position - I'm convinced. I only hope that if he plays week one, we are not doing it out of urgency rather than what is best for the potential future star RB of our Rams. This kid has future stud written all over him.

My best guess is that Fisher wont allow him rushed. I would even bet that if the medical staff releases Gurley to full contact, that Fisher will probably hold him back claiming "We need to get him into football shape" or some other coach speak to buy a few more weeks confidence. I think we can win without Gurley and I'm expecting Mason to play with a chip on his shoulder.

 

[…..]

And.... 50 people a week? Sounds like an HMO. THAT's what I want to put my faith behind. I would hope that someone at the level of Andrews - who is being asked to cut on some of the most high profile athletes in the world - would be seeing MAYBE 50 a year and probably less.

I think 50 a week is more acurate.

Would you believe that there has been over 1000 Tommy John surguries to major league players with most of them being performed by James Andrews? lol A USA Today article gives him credit for 1000 but I find that extremely hard to believe.

Andrews is the team surgeon for Auburn Football, Alabama Football, and the Washington Redskins. In addition to that, he has his Andrews Sports Medicine practice in Birmingham that is open to the public. He is 72 years old and takes two weeks off a year while working 7 days a week during football season. Kinda unreal!



Edit.....50 a week is 7 surguries a day. I think he must be getting credit for the surguries completed by other doctors in his practice. No one can really do 7 surguries a day, thats insane.

 

[Ram_Rally]

Didn't Jake Long go to Andrews as well....?

I think he did but they all do. Those two can't be seen as the norm. Adrian Peterson went to him as well

 

[RamzFanz]

Is this a normal reevaluation or is this a setback??

How do we know?

They look for swelling and at range of motion and such.

Unless they are hiding something, it's normal. He has to be cleared at several stages to move to the next. Each time he increases his activities, they watch for setbacks.

If I recall correctly, the actual healing and major rehab is complete at 7 months and a few weeks. Then they ease him into increased activity in stages and watch for the knee's reaction. If it's a normal reaction they go to the next stage, if not, they slow him down.

By the doctor's own timeline and statements, Gurley could be more than ready for full TC and full week one participation. I don't think there is actually any statistical data to support increased risk of re-injury by holding a player out longer than needed.

Interestingly, it's extremely important NOT to baby the knee and to have full confidence in the healing. If you favor that knee, hip and opposite knee injuries are a more likely result.

 

[RamzFanz]

Yeah - a warrantee would be a bit silly. But if you really wanted to go that route, Sam didn't do well, Bo Jack didn't do well, Jack retired soon after and I believe he was already playing in the senior tour. Even still, I'm not questioning Andrews' credentials. It depends more on what is being asked. Do you really want to compare a golfer's shoulder to a knee for an NFL running back or QB?

And.... 50 people a week? Sounds like an HMO. THAT's what I want to put my faith behind. I would hope that someone at the level of Andrews - who is being asked to cut on some of the most high profile athletes in the world - would be seeing MAYBE 50 a year and probably less.

Yes, he does a LOT of surgeries. I remember when RK (eye) surgery came out in Russia. The doctor sat and the patients were on a moving "conveyer" type thing. Prep people before him, recovery people after him, and he just mass produced. It was very successful though.

 

[RamzFanz]

That still doesn't mean he is best served by getting put back in before his strength is at NFL level.

That's very true. He wouldn't be.

However, holding him back may be just as bad. The healing is complete by training camp. His rehab may actually have him in the best shape of his life.

According to Andrews, the real issue is muscle memory. The surgery erases the memory. It's all about re-teaching the knee muscles what to do.

I think people are under the impression that a return soon after being cleared is rolling the dice. That it is a higher risk of re-injury than sitting out. I don't think that is true. Andrews says that confidence in the knee is of great importance. Showing fear in his return could actually increase the risks.

This was before the draft:

https://instagram.com/p/14VnUWOh_0/

 

[RamFan503]

Yes, he does a LOT of surgeries. I remember when RK (eye) surgery came out in Russia. The doctor sat and the patients were on a moving "conveyer" type thing. Prep people before him, recovery people after him, and he just mass produced. It was very successful though.

So you're saying this is Gurley?

 

[RamzFanz]

So you're saying this is Gurley?

No, I'm saying that was Soviet medicine!

 

[rickrawk]

I would love to see Gurley on the field in game 1, but i would wait to make sure he is 100% healthy. Mason and Benny can definitely get it done in the meanwhile.

GO RAMS!!!!

 

[hotanez]

I don't see what the big deal is? Let the expert make the call and let him start slowly and increase his reps after each game. There are NO guarantees he won't get hurt on some freak play.

 

[FrankenRam]

We'll see, he's a Fisher guy. Interesting to see how many RBs we keep this year.

He's a 'Fisher guy' in the sense that Fisher drafted him. But that's it. He's probably only stuck around this long for that reason.

 

[FrankenRam]

I think 50 a week is more acurate.

.....

Edit.....50 a week is 7 surguries a day. I think he must be getting credit for the surguries completed by other doctors in his practice. No one can really do 7 surguries a day, thats insane.

Not all that insane. There are cardiac surgeons who do that many (and more) surgeries/day. A little more complex than ligaments.

 

[FrankenRam]

I wouldn't bury Pead just yet...He's a serviceable RB and a valuable ST player...I think he might well be here for '15

A serviceable RB? What has he shown to make anyone think that? All the game time carries he's been given?

But with Watts being suspended, I'll put him in the coffin, but won't start throwing dirt on it just yet.

If ST is his 'value', they can get what he's provided from a UDFA....for less $$.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

no player is the same. adp is a freak of nature.

did andrews clear rg3-10 before the 2013 season? something went awry there as he definitely shouldn't have been on the field that early. he was very sluggish and hesitant. he didn't look ready physically and mentally. sam looked great last season, long didn't yet sam couldn't last 2 quarters and long stunk it up for 7 weeks before going down again.

hopefully gurley is in the adp mold.

.

 

[ReddingRam]

They look for swelling and at range of motion and such.

Unless they are hiding something, it's normal. He has to be cleared at several stages to move to the next. Each time he increases his activities, they watch for setbacks.

If I recall correctly, the actual healing and major rehab is complete at 7 months and a few weeks. Then they ease him into increased activity in stages and watch for the knee's reaction. If it's a normal reaction they go to the next stage, if not, they slow him down.

By the doctor's own timeline and statements, Gurley could be more than ready for full TC and full week one participation. I don't think there is actually any statistical data to support increased risk of re-injury by holding a player out longer than needed.

Interestingly, it's extremely important NOT to baby the knee and to have full confidence in the healing. If you favor that knee, hip and opposite knee injuries are a more likely result.

Very good and astute explanation of the process. this is all part of normal procedure for these things.