Understanding Bradley Beal’s Latest Stress Reaction

• Post By: Jeff Stotts
• Date: February 11, 2015
• Category: NBA, Understanding...

Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been diagnosed with the third stress-related injury to his right fibula of his three-year career. The team has said he will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break but the injury raises plenty of red flags.

Beal originally hurt his fibula during his rookie season and missed Washington’s final eight games of the year. The injury was officially diagnosed as a stress reaction in the distal (bottom) portion of the fibula. The injury ultimately prevented him from being an active participant with Team USA. However Beal reported to training camp cleared for contact. His return didn’t last long as he developed a second stress reaction in his fibula, this time in the proximal (upper) portion of the leg. He was sidelined for nine games but finished out his sophomore campaign without any reported issues.

The latest setback was detected on a recent MRI. Already managing a painful big toe injury on his right foot, team physicians located a stress reaction in the distal portion of his problematic right fibula. Now the Wizards will again be forced to limit Beal’s workload until the issue calms down.

InStreetClothes.com recently addressed stress reaction in a piece on Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, but let’s review.

Most bones in the human body endure some sort of stress during the activities that occur on a daily basis. The amount of stress placed on and through these bones is elevated during strenuous activities like running or jumping. As a result, bone tissue is continually being remodeled to keep up with these high demands. However if the stress is constant or simply too high for the remodeling process to keep up, a stress injury can occur.

Stress injuries generally start as a stress reaction that is accompanied by localized pain and potentially inflammation. If caught early and the problematic activity is stopped, the remodeling process can catch up and complete its normal duties.

If activity is continued or resumed prematurely, a stress reaction can develop into a stress fracture and the bone tissue in the area breaks. These injuries require a longer amount of rest or, in some extreme cases, surgery.

Areas of the body that withstand a high degree of stress, like the foot, back, and lower leg bones, are particularly susceptible to stress fractures. Of the two lower leg bones, the tibia appears to be more vulnerable to injury as it bears a larger amount of weight. The aforementioned Holliday and Denver’s JaVale McGee are just two players to recently deal with stress fractures in the tibia. However, as evident by the reoccurring issues for Beal, the fibula can also fail when subjected to high degrees of stress.

 

Now Beal will be shut down for the next few days, allowing for the healing process to begin. The extended rest should also help the lingering toe issue which could have actually been the real culprit behind this most recent stress injury. If the toe injury altered Beal’s normal biomechanics, the previously fractured fibula could have been subjected to a higher than normal amount of stress that has since developed into this latest injury. The Wizards should have a better idea of how long their emerging guard will need to sit and if his absence will continue after the break. Unfortunately history isn’t on Beal’s side as his personal history and precedent set by players like Holiday and McGee suggest a conservative approach would be best and a prolonged absence is likely.