Breaking Down Nick Young’s Knee Injury
- Post By: Jeff Stotts
- Date:
- Category: Break Down, NBA
The Lakers backcourt has been in shambles as the team had played 22 straight games without Steve Blake, Kobe Bryant, and Steve Nash and an additional 16 games without Jordan Farmar and Xavier Henry. However Blake, Nash, and Farmar all returned to the active roster early in the week with the latter two remaining on a minutes-restriction. Unfortunately the relief was short lived as Jodie Meeks suffered an ankle sprain against the Timberwolves and was forced to miss Wednesday’s win over the Cavaliers. The improbable victory over Cleveland came at a price as guard Nick Young also succumbed to a knee injury. A MRI taken Thursday revealed disappointing news as the man known as Swaggy P will miss at least two weeks with a non-displaced fracture and bone bruise to his left patella (kneecap).
The major cause for concern is the fracture. While it is good to hear the bone did not chip or fragment, the break in the bone will require time to heal. Sadly this type of healing is often complicated by the anatomy of the patella. The kneecap is a sesamoid bone meaning it “floats” within the tendon of a muscle, in this case the tendon of the quadriceps muscles. This configuration makes the patella mobile and allows the moment arm of the tendon to increase. This enhances the torque and subsequently improves the range of motion for the joint. However for the patella to smoothly move and adequately perform its job, it must come in contact with multiples aspects of the leg bones, particularly the femur. This repetitive contact makes it difficult for a fracture to heal and often prolongs the rehab process.
The bone bruise, also known as periosteal bruising, only complicates things. All bones have a thin layer of compact bone tissue that is often reinforced by a membrane known as the periosteum. The makeup of these layers is dense and provides strength to the bone. In a true fracture, each of the layers of bone is broken. In a bone bruise, just the outer layers are damaged but the body treats these injuries just as it would a complete fracture. This means ample time is required to create new bony tissue and fill in the gaps. The same biomechanical problems present in the patella fracture also apply to the bone bruise, once again delaying the recovery process.
The precedent for patella fractures, both stress-induced and traumatic, doesn’t paint a pretty picture either. The previous seven cases of patellar fractures in the NBA, including big names like John Wall and Blake Griffin, missed an average of 46 games. These numbers do not include Minnesota guard AJ Price who needed months of recovery time following a fractured patella suffered in a charity event during the lockout. On the plus side, three of these seven cases needed surgery and that doesn’t appear to be a current option for Young. Still patella fractures in other sports including the MLB, NFL, and NHL required extensive recovery time resulting in substantial amounts of time missed. While the data appears somewhat limited, it does suggest a two week absence for Young could be extremely optimistic.
Regardless of the timeline, the Lakers will proceed without the services of Young, Bryant, Henry, Meeks, and forwards Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill for the immediate future. In the meantime, head athletic trainer Gary Vitti and his staff will diligently work to get these individuals back on the court while attempting to keep the few remaining able bodies healthy.