The Science Behind Gilbert Arenas’ Road To Recovery
When Gilbert Arenas said earlier this week that he was only going to play in home games when he returns this year, there was nothing that made me more enraged. As an Arenas fan for years, you’d think I would be happy to see him on the court, but after fleecing the Wizards for $111 million this summer, I’d rather not see him at all.
The thing is, his wax figure at Madame Tussauds has seen more action this year than Gil. Perhaps those haters back in his Arizona days were right when they said he’d see zero minutes in the League – not because of talent, but because of injury.
After signing that six-year, $111 million contract with the Wizards – despite missing almost all of the 2007-08 season with a knee injury – Arenas went back in for his third operation in 17 months on his left knee in September. At the time, the team said the arthroscopic procedure removed a moderate amount of debris from Arenas’ knee, and that he should be back around mid-December. Last time I checked it was almost April.
Trying to figure out why is it taking Arenas so long to get back on the court, I contacted one of the Lakers’ orthopedic consultants, Dr. Daniel Kharrazi. An orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, Dr. Kharrazi says that for a fairly straight forward injury Arenas shouldn’t have necessarily been out this long.
“Meniscal injuries are fairly straight forward and are easy to come back from,” says Dr. Kharrazi. “If there is a tear in a region where there is articular cartilage, you have to rely on time and the body’s potential to repair the injury. But sometimes even in the best of hands, the body may not allow you to heal.
“One of the possible explanations for why Arenas’ cartilage legion was slow to heal is that scar tissue built up limiting his range of motion. Any time cartilage is involved in that area it will take some time because that region is avascular and doesn’t have good blood supply.”
So with time on his side, Arenas had his work cutout for him. To get back to playing level, he had to hit the weights.
“First and foremost, core strengthening is absolutely critical,” says Dr. Kharrazi. “There’s no way to prevent this type of injury and no two patients are the same. What you can do though is strengthen you quadriceps and hamstrings. The nature of jumping sports is that there is always the chance of an impact injury.”
But what amazed me most is that for a player attempting to make it back, there is little doctors can actually do to prevent these injuries from reoccurring. Right now, after this type of surgery, the only way to keep the knee protected is the use of a strengthening brace. There is however some interesting research in the works.
“At one cartilage restoration center, there is a lot of progress going on right now,” says Dr. Kharrazi. “Like brain cells, you can’t recreate cartilage. What God gave you is what you got. But there is a lot of research going on with microfracture stem cell activation. It’s never the same as cartilage, but they’re trying to find a way to recreate cartilage so it’s the same as when you were originally born – elastic, water-filled and indestructible.”
March 27th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
E$ says:
I don’t watch the Wizards play unless GA on the court, I’m sure I’m not alone
March 27th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
POPPI GEE says:
Gil need to do something. He is on wack status till I see more.
March 27th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Coop says:
Decent article. Would have liked a bit more on the actual injury and his treatment thus far but good nonetheless.
March 27th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
DiZzY says:
i seen just one games of the wizards this season but it was one of my favorite team :-s
(arenas + stevenson + thomas + haywood) x returns + good draft pick = 2?10
March 27th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Tha Boddy "Shaqified" says:
Well thank you for this post.I don’t see any Arenas haters spreading their hate.He is doing what he as to do.Now when he goes back to dropping buckets and filling seats i’d love to see the hate flow then…I’ll be around
March 27th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
doc says:
Well he need to hurry up then.What is he going the Grant Hill route.Enjoy his money early then come back to ball after that contract run out.
March 27th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Big Island says:
You can’t really hate on a guy when he’s injured Boddy. It’s like beating a dead horse. Same reason the T-Mac hate has died out, it’s just not fun. I hope he comes back strong, but I’ll just let it be until then.
March 27th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
jeremy says:
quality shots on saturday
March 27th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
jzsmoove says:
the rest of you NBAers you SHOULD ALL dump your current agent for Gil’s agent. this fella sold a practically 3-legged racehorse for megamillions.
March 27th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Big Freeze says:
Great read dime. Let’s talk to a random doctor and get him to speculate on an ijured player he’s never treated.
March 27th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
foolio_iglesias says:
Hey,Canibus said he could beat a dead nigga to life so maybe Boddy has a point….
March 28th, 2009 at 1:30 am
JMAC says:
The Wizards NEED TO LET GILBERT ARENAS GO!The one thing that I learned from Agent Zero is The key to any good party is the ice sculpture. It surprises me to say that because 3 years ago, I and many Wizards fans thought the world of him. No one, including myself, blames Arenas for his injury troubles because the injury he sustained came as the result of a FREAK collision against the Charlotte Bobcats off a bizarre rebound. However, Arenas did not handle his injury reserve status with maturity. Instead, he seemed to devote more time to his blog than his rehabilitation. His crazy comments on his blog caused unnecessary distractions for the team in critical situations. In the “Wizards v. Lebron James” feud, it was Arenas who fired the first shot arrogantly predicting a Wizards whipping of the Cavaliers. And, if the 2007-2008 season taught any Wizards fan anything, it was that the Wizards rallied to a winning season without the services of Arenas.
March 28th, 2009 at 2:26 am
Luigi says:
Hey. as a major Gil fan for years. i think Dime knows that
i hope he returns into vintage Zero.
March 28th, 2009 at 2:44 am
Tha Boddy says:
He will return…I’m so glad im just afew metro stops away when he does…
March 28th, 2009 at 10:54 am
LayupDrill says:
Great Article and research Aron. I personally would rather see Gil wait till next year to come back, there is really nothing he can do that would help the Wizards do anything this year.
March 28th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
QQ says:
LMAO @ post 10:
As a nurse surrounded by physicians daily, I could truly fucking relate. You don’t just diagnose people by reading their story in the news or the net. You got to see them firsthand, assess them, talk to them, etc. Damn. So how in the hell did this doctor know what the physicians that are actually with Arenas right now don’t?
March 29th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
queazy says:
Great. Getting speculative injury advice from the the Lakers’ med staff. How’s that working out for ya, Bynum?