DeCastro gotta be flying high on PK's

[VanWilder]

Adam Schefter Twitter

August 26, 2012Steelers g David DeCastro dislocated his knee cap, tore his medial collateral ligament and suffered some damage to patellar tendon. But his anterior cruciate ligament is intact, according to sources and Steelers still are unsure if or when he will be able to return this season.

Damn that kid has to be in pain.  Glad it's not an ACL (again team plague), but a dislocated platella has got to be an ouch moment.  Saw a video of this same injury & them popping it back in. 

Nasty stuff.  Hearing 8 months but not a year like ACL injury.  The tendon damage might take awhile too.

[Finnegans Wake]

ACL has a long recovery, but torn patellar tendon is not a cake injury.

Overview here.

Here's a pretty interesting PubMed study on NFL players and patellar tears.

Granted, this study was conducted between 1994-2004, and if PT tear procedures have kept pace with ACL procedures, there may be some dramatic difference to the results, but...

RESULTS: Eleven of the 24 injuries had antecedent symptoms. The most common mechanism of injury was an eccentric overload to a contracting extensor mechanism. Physical examination demonstrated a palpable defect in all players. Twenty-two were complete ruptures, and 2 were partial injuries. Three of the 24 cases had a concomitant anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. In 19 of the 24 injuries, the player returned to participate in at least 1 game in the NFL. Players who returned were drafted, on average, in the fourth round, while those who failed to return to play were drafted, on average, in the sixth round. Of those players who returned to play, the average number of games played was 45.4, with a range of 1 to 142 games.

So the average post-PT career is just <3 seasons, the far outlier max just <9.  Don't know if any of the players were as young as DDC, which, with advances to procedures may bode well.  But recent players who've suffered PTs (Caddy Williams, Ryan Clady) have shown noticeable dropoffs in production.  Also worth noting, Ben boitched about the FieldTurf, but more than just Ben bitchin':  Googlify NFL torn patellar tendon and you'll find a dozen guys whacked by this injury so far this year alone.  That's crazy.

[aj_law]

[jonzr]

Poor bastard.

[give'emthaboot]

ACL has a long recovery, but torn patellar tendon is not a cake injury.

Overview here.

Here's a pretty interesting PubMed study on NFL players and patellar tears.

Granted, this study was conducted between 1994-2004, and if PT tear procedures have kept pace with ACL procedures, there may be some dramatic difference to the results, but...

RESULTS: Eleven of the 24 injuries had antecedent symptoms. The most common mechanism of injury was an eccentric overload to a contracting extensor mechanism. Physical examination demonstrated a palpable defect in all players. Twenty-two were complete ruptures, and 2 were partial injuries. Three of the 24 cases had a concomitant anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. In 19 of the 24 injuries, the player returned to participate in at least 1 game in the NFL. Players who returned were drafted, on average, in the fourth round, while those who failed to return to play were drafted, on average, in the sixth round. Of those players who returned to play, the average number of games played was 45.4, with a range of 1 to 142 games.

So the average post-PT career is just <3 seasons, the far outlier max just <9.  Don't know if any of the players were as young as DDC, which, with advances to procedures may bode well.  But recent players who've suffered PTs (Caddy Williams, Ryan Clady) have shown noticeable dropoffs in production.  Also worth noting, Ben boitched about the FieldTurf, but more than just Ben bitchin':  Googlify NFL torn patellar tendon and you'll find a dozen guys whacked by this injury so far this year alone.  That's crazy.

Not exactly sure the extent of DDC's injury, but from everything I have read the PT wasn't completely torn in this case.  Sounds like some damage to the PT, a dislocated knee cap and an MCL tear.

PFT is saying he'll be out 3-5 months.  Of course its PFT, so you have to take that with a grain of salt.

Either way, I doubt he'll play this year, but hopefully he's able to bounce back and it's not as bad as that article Finny posted makes it out to be.

[Finnegans Wake]

Steelers Depot now reporting no IR, surgery this week.  If it's an incomplete tear, that bodes well, or better.  MCL alone might put his return ~week 10, MCL + PT?  Not sure.  I'd start Foster as long as possible though and just keep DDC (even healthy) on the mend.

Really hoping this doesn't seriously derail this kid's career.  Wonders of medical science, maybe he/we get lucky.

[scballersc]

ACL has a long recovery, but torn patellar tendon is not a cake injury.

Overview here.

Here's a pretty interesting PubMed study on NFL players and patellar tears.

Granted, this study was conducted between 1994-2004, and if PT tear procedures have kept pace with ACL procedures, there may be some dramatic difference to the results, but...

RESULTS: Eleven of the 24 injuries had antecedent symptoms. The most common mechanism of injury was an eccentric overload to a contracting extensor mechanism. Physical examination demonstrated a palpable defect in all players. Twenty-two were complete ruptures, and 2 were partial injuries. Three of the 24 cases had a concomitant anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. In 19 of the 24 injuries, the player returned to participate in at least 1 game in the NFL. Players who returned were drafted, on average, in the fourth round, while those who failed to return to play were drafted, on average, in the sixth round. Of those players who returned to play, the average number of games played was 45.4, with a range of 1 to 142 games.

So the average post-PT career is just <3 seasons, the far outlier max just <9.  Don't know if any of the players were as young as DDC, which, with advances to procedures may bode well.  But recent players who've suffered PTs (Caddy Williams, Ryan Clady) have shown noticeable dropoffs in production.  Also worth noting, Ben boitched about the FieldTurf, but more than just Ben bitchin':  Googlify NFL torn patellar tendon and you'll find a dozen guys whacked by this injury so far this year alone.  That's crazy.

Well lets bank on the fact that this was (hopefully) a partial tear, that DDC's talent level is comparably higher than the players that were "pushed out" by the injury, that he is a rookie and a young one at that, and that he doesn't play a skill position like running back which has a considerably shorter half-life to begin with.

[Finnegans Wake]

Well lets bank on the fact that this was (hopefully) a partial tear, that DDC's talent level is comparably higher than the players that were "pushed out" by the injury, that he is a rookie and a young one at that, and that he doesn't play a skill position like running back which has a considerably shorter half-life to begin with.

That's all hopefully true, but the question this season at least would be if he is pressed into duty, how much functional strength lost?  How much flexibility?  Still think they should rest him as much as possible.

[Brinker]

I agree. IR him. Let him heal. Let him learn the off the field schtuff. Then we have 2 first round picks next year.

[VanWilder]

encouraging news.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/on-the-steelers-decastros-injury-not-as-severe-as-first-feared-650769/

He was upbeat and his teammates believe they will see him playing again before the season ends.
 
"It's sad, man, to see that happen," center Maurkice Pouncey said of DeCastro's injury, which occurred in the first quarter of Saturday night's game in Buffalo. "But it's a good thing it ain't season-ending. He'll be able to fight back toward the end of the year. He doesn't look down about it. He's accepted what happened and ready to move forward with it."


Pouncey said that after talking to DeCastro the best news was his ACL wasn't torn as first suspected. "That was major," he said.