Midfoot Sprains

by Ben Golliver on Oct 28, 2008 11:14 PM PDT

TNT television reported that Greg Oden was diagnosed with a Midfoot Sprain and will be scheduled for an MRI tomorrow. According to TNT, He took X rays tonight that were "inconclusive."

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Update: According to an AP report, the X rays were "negative." Which, paradoxically, is a positive.

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Update 2: According to Casey, the X rays were "inconclusive." is there a difference between "inconclusive" and "negative"? I have no idea. Is there a doctor in the building?

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Update 3: For what it's worth, Quick is also now reporting "inconclusive." Quick adds this detail: Oden "wore a protective black boot after the game."

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Update 4: A must see picture of Greg being driven out of the Staples Center in a Car From The Future. They need to put some rims on that thing. (By the way, this is the moment when Bruce Ely went from great photographer to legendary photographer.)

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The following is general information about midfoot sprains only and not about Greg's injury in particular.

What is a midfoot sprain?

The midfoot is the central area that includes the arch of the foot. In athletes, midfoot sprains usually occur because of a sports-related fall, a collision or an isolated twist of the midfoot, particularly during snowboarding, windsurfing, horseback riding or competitive diving. Among female ballet dancers, midfoot sprains typically happen when the dancer loses her balance while en pointe (on her toes) and spinning or when she lands with her foot abnormally flexed or rotated after a jump. Among people who do not compete in high-risk activities, about one-third of midfoot sprains happen by accident, simply because of an odd twist of the foot during an ordinary stumble or fall. Less often, severe midfoot sprains are the result of high-impact trauma, especially trauma caused by a motor vehicle collision or a fall from a high place. This type of injury is likely to produce not only Grade III sprains, but also foot fractures and open wounds.

Symptoms...

In a mild or moderate midfoot sprain, your midfoot area will be swollen and tender, and there may be some local bruising (black and blue discoloration). In more severe sprains, you may not be able to bear weight on your injured foot.

Expected timeline for recovery...

Mild midfoot sprains usually heal within a few weeks, whereas more severe sprains may take up to two months.

Here's the source of the above information. Here's some more background information on midfoot sprains that suggests a worst-case timeline of up to 1 year to return to playing sports.

Here's an article in which Spencer Hawes missed only 1 game with a midfoot sprain. Here's a cached article from 2005 when TJ Ford went down for 2-3 weeks. Here's an article in which Sasha Pavlovic was out 6+ weeks. Here's an article about Ted Ginn of the Miami Dolphins who was out for 4+ months with a (severe?) midfoot sprain.

Clearly there is a range of timelines in play here, depending on the severity of the sprain.

Here's how Greg did it (image courtesy of Tater Tot King Ezra Caraeff).

Best wishes to Mr. Oden.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

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Comments

Thank you for being classy Ben.

Rec’d for class.

He's Coming! Oden Slayer of Giants

by Idog1976 on Oct 28, 2008 11:19 PM PDT reply actions

weeks?!

Sigh. Get well soon, Greg Oden.
And know that no matter what happens, us fans are gratefull to you for your hard work and upstanding character.

by Saba on Oct 28, 2008 11:20 PM PDT reply actions

Hey

remember Bynum said he needs to check out new centers? He was talking about Oden. So he checked if his legs are fine and thats what happened.

by RipCity on Oct 28, 2008 11:21 PM PDT reply actions

bummer dude

Thanks for the info and we’ll hope for the best.

Boomshakalaka

by jksnake99 on Oct 28, 2008 11:22 PM PDT reply actions

I'm no expert,

but that is an ankle injury. He’ll be back within 10 days.

by as11osu on Oct 28, 2008 11:28 PM PDT reply actions

I'm a bit of an expert

I helped Shavlik get beyond his ankle injury (which was TOTALLY different)and got him playing again

there is wide variance on these injuries..and the MRI will tell if things were torn or just stretched (I’m guessing the latter because he continue to play on it — pain would have likely been too intense to continue)

is that the same ankle he rolled practice day1? thats a factor for sure…is it on the same side as the knee surgey??(you can tell how new I am here…) cause the gait can get altered through rehab process..an an altered gait can cause the ankle to be more vulnerable..

There’s a certain nutrition to healing these things.. person needs zinc, manganese, b12..does the team have someone who does sports nutrition?

acupuncture helps ligaments to heal — does the team utilize this in any way shape or form?

by LetsBlaze on Oct 29, 2008 10:12 AM PDT up reply actions

not the same ankle as before.

same as the knee.

i haven’t heard of anyone doing acupuncture (it might have happened, i just haven’t heard about it) but they do have a solid nutrition program in place from what i know.

honor terry porter

by Ben Golliver on Oct 29, 2008 10:32 AM PDT up reply actions

thanks for the input..

by LetsBlaze on Oct 29, 2008 10:49 AM PDT up reply actions

And Greg does Pilates

Though I guess that was mainly to stabilize his torso and knee and not so much his ankles.

Odenied: If you're given lemmings—make lemming-ade (Bow4Meow)

by Norsktroll on Oct 29, 2008 2:57 PM PDT up reply actions

There are a wealth of things that help

I’m not real familiar with the Blazers inner workings.. but am interested in helping out there if I get the chance

I’ve been hands on for 15 years, certified in acupuncture — do muscle testing in a very specific way – love pilates for stabalization, rehab and pre-hab if you will getting the body ready to do what you want to ask from it

Basketball is arguably the most demanding whole body workout short o the fight for your life things – which is a different world. I adjust every joint in the body (curb your sick side) and custom tailor nutritional plans for individual needs.

by LetsBlaze on Oct 29, 2008 3:45 PM PDT up reply actions

x-rays inconclusive?

AP reports that the x-rays were negative— in other words there was no break. The MRI will help determine the extent of the sprain.

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2008/10/greg_oden_injures_foot_xrays_n.html

Boomshakalaka

by jksnake99 on Oct 28, 2008 11:28 PM PDT reply actions

TNT reported inconclusive…

thanks for the update…

honor terry porter

by Ben Golliver on Oct 28, 2008 11:32 PM PDT up reply actions

if there is a difference between inconclusive and negative i think they got this one wrong…

honor terry porter

by Ben Golliver on Oct 28, 2008 11:44 PM PDT up reply actions

Who got what wrong??

by Stegie33 on Oct 28, 2008 11:48 PM PDT up reply actions

AP is reporting “negative”

everyone else says “inconclusive”

if there is a difference between the two of those terms (i don’t know if there is?), then i side against the AP on this one given the reliability and access of casey, quick and tnt.

honor terry porter

by Ben Golliver on Oct 28, 2008 11:49 PM PDT up reply actions

med student here

i’m not an actual licensed doctor-i’m just getting up to 1/2 way through school, and i didn’t even stay at a holiday inn last night so take this with a grain of salt.

Its my understanding that negative would indicate NO VISIBLE DAMAGE on the x-ray for whatever they were looking for (i.e. a break). Inconclusive would mean you couldn’t really tell (somewhere between + and ~~). Either way, though, its pretty much a moot point. The big thing here is a soft tissue injury~~-which MRIs pick up. MRIs are the gold standard for imaging in medicine but even then with all the inflammation that goes on, they might not be able to see a whole lot of the ligaments clearly, like my MRI after a grade 3 ankle sprain. Grade 3—at least for ankle sprains—is the worst that it gets. In my case, I also broke my talus bone and I was out for probably 3 months.

I didn’t have 285 lb coming down on it. I also didn’t have microfracture knee surgery on that leg.

But on the other hand, I didn’t have the advantage of blazers trainers and i’m not a world class athlete. Also they didn’t catch the bone break early and i’ve had a history of several ankle sprains.

I did wear that same boot, though. Its pretty sweet for ankle sprains. keeps your ankle joint completely immobile but you can still walk around.

Key point: wait till the MRI. It’ll tell you more than the x-ray ever could.

by nima on Oct 29, 2008 6:33 AM PDT up reply actions

uhh..why the strike out?

by nima on Oct 29, 2008 6:33 AM PDT up reply actions

I was hoping someone would bring up that holiday inn bit. Very funny

by 50backflips on Oct 29, 2008 6:49 AM PDT up reply actions

Looks like Greg won't be matching up against all those centers

Hopefully he’ll heal fast.

BINGO, BANGO, BONGO

by blzrfan on Oct 28, 2008 11:31 PM PDT reply actions

Ben, you're a better man than I

Were I the erstwhile proprietor of draftkevindurant.com, I would’ve been all “I told you so” right about now.

That you have refrained from doing so is a tribute to your tact and good breeding. I commend you, sir.

by knickfan on Oct 28, 2008 11:34 PM PDT reply actions

i hope you’re just joking…

honor terry porter

by Ben Golliver on Oct 28, 2008 11:37 PM PDT up reply actions

I do have a sick sense of humor, at times

It’s just a coping mechanism, really. I’m actually feeling pretty bummed about Oden’s injury. I was really looking forward to watching him develop this year. I sincerely hope it’s not serious.

No offense intended.

by knickfan on Oct 28, 2008 11:44 PM PDT up reply actions

none taken, just glad you were joking

honor terry porter

by Ben Golliver on Oct 28, 2008 11:53 PM PDT up reply actions

i worry about greg's head

remembering how guilty he felt about the knee.

ignacio

by ignacio on Oct 28, 2008 11:42 PM PDT reply actions

The worst part was that the announcers had to stress it was the same leg as the micro-fractured knee

As if that had anything to do with it. Get well within days, Greg.

Odenied: If you're given lemmings—make lemming-ade (Bow4Meow)

by Norsktroll on Oct 28, 2008 11:47 PM PDT reply actions

Didn't Greg play 5 or so more minutes after hurting his foot?

He was hurting running up and down the floor, but it wasn’t so bad that he couldn’t move on it. I think that’s a very good sign. He probably had a lot of adrenaline and desire to be out there in his first game that covered up some of the pain. When he stopped moving around on it (timeout or something) that is when he probably noticed it was worse than he thought. Still, running around on it for a while is a good sign to me. Also, the fact that it was because he landed on someone’s foot, an accidental thing, makes me slightly more okay with it. It means he isn’t necessarily injury prone, just outta basketball shape and carrying a bit too much weight around.

I think the absolute worst thing won’t be that he’s out for a week or two, but that he’s got to bear the weight of yet another 2 weeks of Bowie 2.0 stories and not being able to live up to our expectations.

WWKPD?
Ambassador to the Miami Heat

by Magnum on Oct 28, 2008 11:55 PM PDT reply actions

Actually

I remember watching him after his injury and was alarmed at how awfully slow he looked. In a weird way, it’s heartening to know that his inability to get up and down the floor was probably due to injury more than anything else. Because if he really IS that slow, it would be legitimate cause for concern.

by knickfan on Oct 28, 2008 11:59 PM PDT up reply actions

That doesn't really tell you anything.

When I tore up my first knee, I kept playing for the rest of the game (a couple of innings). It wasn’t until an hour or so later that I could hardly move it from the pain and swelling.

hakkaa päälle !

by timg56 on Oct 29, 2008 7:43 AM PDT up reply actions

Ben thanks for that info

Eases the mind a bit so i can go to sleep. Prayers going out to Oden and the Blazers tonight.

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life,(of the Blazers), (of KP's madness), of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity." - Albert Einstein

by BlazerandBeaverBELIEVER on Oct 29, 2008 12:45 AM PDT reply actions

Got to overcome G.O

Get healthy. Get in SHAPE. Come back when you are ready

Sergio, grab the playing time by the horns.

by TheGreatDane17 on Oct 29, 2008 1:09 AM PDT reply actions

It WAS G.O. Time, but . . .

now it’s rehab time, again.

P.S. – In 25 + years of playing, I’ve torn the ACL
in both knees (left – full reconstuction 1989) and
rolled both ankles to the bone (usually coming
down on someone’s foot) eight to ten times each.
You can still come back G.O., it just takes time and
hard work. Get well and we will see you in November !

It's GO time !

by walkoff41 on Oct 29, 2008 1:21 AM PDT reply actions

Sprains

When i went down with a midfoot sprain it took 2 weeks to recover fully. No crutches required. Then again, I wasn’t 285 pounds… Hopefully this is just a minor tweak and i hope to see Greg back for the S.A game. If not, thats OK because we all know its not good to rush back into action without being fully healthy.

by BrokeButStoked on Oct 29, 2008 2:18 AM PDT reply actions

Regarding the car.

We have one just like it parked in the garage of our office building. Sort of cool looking. Sort of a golf cart on steroids.

hakkaa päälle !

by timg56 on Oct 29, 2008 7:44 AM PDT reply actions

My sympathy to Greg

He must be feeling awful this morning – and I’m not talking about his foot. He has to be more frustrated than any of the fans. And now he’s going to have to deal with all the speculation about being injury prone. I hope that he just stays away from media reports and internet “news”.

""I'm going to coach this team the best way I see fit. You can't rush it. You can't force it. When you force it, you end up losing, and I think you slow the growth down even more. There's a good chance we're going to go through rough times." - Nate McM 10/25/08

by jorga on Oct 29, 2008 7:45 AM PDT reply actions

Well here goes

1.Oden is an out of shape big man=Injuries
2.Oden will not get into shape this season , because he can’t play
3.Oden will is injury prone and will be more susceptable to getting injuries because he is poorly conditioned
4.The mental impact of the Oden hype/injuries/#1 pick/not playing will hinder his progress

If I seem to repeat myself, well………………….I feel bad, but reality is near….he has a mighty big mountain to climb……

by 67 on Oct 29, 2008 8:21 AM PDT reply actions

All I have to say is

Someone get that man an ankle brace. I realize it had nothing to do with a foot sprain, but seriously, how does a man that big with a history of “tweaking” his ankles not brace up or be heavily taped?

formerly fromagnon

by The Arkitect on Oct 29, 2008 8:32 AM PDT reply actions