Pachinko_ wrote:But what does no structural damage actually mean for him?
From the description above it sounds like bones touched each other, so that must be very painful and surely there will be bruising and swelling. Which sounds like a matter of days or weeks to heal. But are we sure it didn't weaken the ligaments in any way and didn't increase his chances of serious injury in the future? Because I know this guy will soon want to play through pain and swelling, if that's all it is.
I think (just judging from my injuries) the proper way is to let the swelling and bruising go down, with treatment to help it, and then start with targeted exercises to strengthen the surrounding muscles to support the knee better. Then basketball practice, and then play. Something like a month in total.
No structural damage meaning the mri was negative for a tear. It doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods and he’s good to go. There are manual tests they can do on the stability of the joint once the swelling is under control that if he doesn’t “pass” those tests then risk of further damage is too high.
At this point his docs have no clue when that will happen, being the superhuman that he is it could happen much faster than it does for someone else. But the joint still has prove it’s stable enough for his further injury risk to reduce. The challenge is that it’s not a black/white yes or no, it’s a judgement call on when the joint is stable.
Those docs have to feel the pressure of the urgency but we have to trust their judgement on when it’s ready. It’s going to be different every day at this point and the only people who will really know will be those docs and the team.
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