Achilles injuries being caused by the negative step?

[uncleoswald]

I’ve long thought that the rise in injuries had something to do with the way the game is played. I’ve been putting my money on the Euro step. But this is very interesting and informative.

The league needs to somehow legislate these type of moves away, in order to minimize injuries. What could they do?

[swyftdahoe]

Watch on YouTube

[Ancalagon]

I think this move has always been common. I remember being at basketball camp as a kid learning the “John Stockton hesitation dribble” and working on this footwork to sell a hesitation dribble with a crossover.

[Bloodbather]

I think this move has always been common. I remember being at basketball camp as a kid learning the “John Stockton hesitation dribble” and working on this footwork to sell a hesitation dribble with a crossover.

Definitely has been common for years.

I think the move does notably risk achilles ruptures but it only happens when it's stressed enough or you do it in a way that puts too much pressure on it. If you compare the number of times someone has used the move to the number of times an achilles has been ruptured, it probably looks safe. Kind of like air travel.

[michaelm]

I was talking about the increase in these sorts of injuries with my chiropractor brother. His theory is that it is wear and tear related to starting intensive basketball at a younger age. There has been a big increase in AAU and similar pushes throughout upbringing of promising players. A 30 year old player now days may have almost 20 years of really pushing themselves. Rewind to players raised in the 80s and 30 in the 90s, and you’ll find some who pushed starting young, but likely a later start age and different training on average. People like to talk about how development is different in developing skill and athleticism for modern players on average, but this could be the negative consequence of that.

Wear and tear makes sense to me, and the KD, Tatum and now this injury all happened deep in the play-offs after a full regular season in high minutes players. Klay Thompson was acclaimed as an iron man and also played heavy minutes contesting the finals 5 years in a row, and had the Achilles’ injury recovering from an ACL injury certainly with altered mechanics and probably different muscle tone and strength than before his ACL injury. The mechanics of the actual discrete injuries makes some kind of sense as well, maximum strain on a presumably already frayed tendon. I also have a theory about modern day pectoral muscle injuries which seemed to be less frequent before weight training, you can make the muscle bigger and stronger by training but not so much the tendon.

[Myth]

I was talking about the increase in these sorts of injuries with my chiropractor brother. His theory is that it is wear and tear related to starting intensive basketball at a younger age. There has been a big increase in AAU and similar pushes throughout upbringing of promising players. A 30 year old player now days may have almost 20 years of really pushing themselves. Rewind to players raised in the 80s and 30 in the 90s, and you’ll find some who pushed starting young, but likely a later start age and different training on average. People like to talk about how development is different in developing skill and athleticism for modern players on average, but this could be the negative consequence of that.

Wear and tear makes sense to me, and the KD, Tatum and now this injury all happened deep in the play-offs after a full regular season in high minutes players. Klay Thompson was acclaimed as an iron man and also played heavy minutes contesting the finals 5 years in a row, and had the Achilles’ injury recovering from an ACL injury certainly with altered mechanics and probably different muscle tone and strength than before his ACL injury. The mechanics of the actual discrete injuries makes some kind of sense as well, maximum strain on a presumably already frayed tendon. I also have a theory about modern day pectoral muscle injuries which seemed to be less frequent before weight training, you can make the muscle bigger and stronger by training but not so much the tendon.

A year and a half ago I tore my pec muscle and had to have it surgically reattached. My surgeon said it was a rare injury in general, but most who have it are steroid users, where the muscle grew rapidly and the tendon couldn’t handle it.

[hauntedcomputer]

soft generation

[balrog27]

This has been used since forever, maybe these trainers are breaking it down into steps and teaching em to kids.

[Wingy]

Tatum, Hali, Dame, KD are the famous ones. Also just stumbled on the fact that Dejounte Murray’s season ender was also an Achilles. Looked it up, and lo and behold…a very similar kind of step.

Watch on YouTube

;pp=ygUWZGVqb3VudGUgbXVycmF5IGluanVyeQ%3D%3D[/url]

[Michael Lucky]

Naturally since the force exerted on the tendon is at its greatest stepping back. It's compounded even more if the player uses extra force to faint the defender or choses to shoot with lift.

[BadMofoPimp]

Maybe it is easier to tear an Achilles with a negative step, but there are multiple ways the tear can happen. I tore mine jumping up to grab a rebound and when I came down a pop could be heard throughout the gym with me laying on the ground.

[Bankai]

I kind of agree with this. Players are being very aggressive with their biomechanics to explode as much as possible.

Read on Twitter

?t=4o6o1SYfw35sthoE14oUdg&s=19

This is pretty much how How Lillard, Tatum and Hali got hurt.

And Durant during Game 5.

[DrModesty]

It makes sense when you think about the rudimentary calf stretch of hands on the wall and a negative step. These guys are putting a hell of a lot more strain on the muscles than that with the explosive launch forward, though obviously they are far more supple than the everyman.

[Lala870]

soft generation

And yet dudes will still make threads saying stuff like Hali could play in the 80's/90's, jokic could beat shaq etc

The NBA is turning into the wNBA

I will say though many of these injuries feel WWE like

Strike: Misogyny/Furthering sexist tropes

[benhillboy]

Here is Kobe talking about overusing the negative step

https://www.tiktok.com/@kobehighlight/video/7206372064142445867?lang=en

Kobe should be coaching one of the worst franchises (let’s say Hornets) to a respectable playoff seed in the East. Such a humongous loss to the fanatic NBA fraternity.

[lambchop]

It makes sense when you think about the rudimentary calf stretch of hands on the wall and a negative step. These guys are putting a hell of a lot more strain on the muscles than that with the explosive launch forward, though obviously they are far more supple than the everyman.

There's nothing supple about having layers and layers of tape around your ankle.

[druggas]

This may or may not mitigate the Achilles epidemic but... Bring back the baggy shorts and jerseys.

A big help would be to make athletes take the summer off and let their body recuperate.

[Lalouie]

so i finally saw a video of it.

I THINK THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE 3

first of all, almost every vid ive seen is off the fake3, prolly cuz there's all this space once you get past him.

secondly, the midrange is almost nonexistent. the game has become either drive or 3.

if you watch a player creating space for a midrange, it's quite a nuanced move compared to the explosive negative move. the midrange has small moves and there's many ways to get it off....but there's only one way to make a negative move and they're all the same, and thats to explode past the defender

to get open on the midrange you don't have to explode past him, you only have to go where he ain't

[dhsilv2]

Is there evidence that players didn't use this step in the past? Also, the negative step might be the final "straw" that causes the rupture, but I imagine any athletic movement would rupture it too once the surrounding muscle is sufficiently weak (like from a strain).

It's an interesting observation. Maybe someone with medical knowledge can comment. My money is still on tight scheduling being the cause of too much strain on players' bodies, leading to muscle injuries that then allow for ligament/tendon tears.

I mean it's that, it's the europe step, it's defenders now sprinting out to shooters, just the total distance traveled by a play in game had more than doubled if not tripled. And we aren't talking 70's running up and down the court but all this side to side lateral movement with more stopping and starting.

Just the nature of space and pace with...I'll leave it others to come up with the rules/interpretations/skill improvements in dribbling.

[kingr]

I swear this has almost been a natural common move for decades... But I could be wrong.