So, why it that professional athletes can all of the sudden recover from knee surgery (or other injuries that should take people out for weeks i.e. Ray Lewis) in an amount of time was previously unheard of?

In the year and a half we have had some pretty miraculous recovery times:

Adrian Peterson - came back from knee surgery for ACL/MCL tear well before the normal time table, and then proceeded to have his best season and almsot break the rushing record.

Ray Lewis - returned from a torn tricep injury in 2 months, which normally takes 6 months to rehab (usually teams put players on a season-ending injured list).

RG III - currently making a similarly "fast" return from ACL/LCL tear and now projected to possibly start like Peterson did.

Ron Artest/Metta World Peace - Torn meniscus in the knee and subsequent surgery which usually takes 6 weeks to rehab post-surgery, he'll play 12 days after the surgery.

So should we believe that the surgery technique and rehab has taken a huge step forward in the past year?

Or should someone start trying to dig in and find out what the new PED is that's allowing players to recovery at unheard of rates?

It's just odd that in the past year and a half things have drastically changed with recovery times.

Oh no, it just is hard for me to believe any of these athletes would have these doctors provide illegal treatments to gain a competitive advantage and return to form quickly.

/f4flogix

Ray Lewis was busted for using. Can't use him in this example IMO.

Bc they get the surgery done by the best drs. In the works and the best rehab specialists.

Crimson streak;1422395 wrote:Bc they get the surgery done by the best drs. In the works and the best rehab specialists.

That's always been the case. As well as the excuse back in the 90s for MLB and all the HRs. My guess is Dr James Andrews will be busted in the next few yrs.

Derrick Rose is still not playing. It's been almost 1 year.

I think time frames for return after these injuries has slowly been getting shorter and shorter over the years. I mean, look at Tommy John surgery. It used to be that you may or may not ever come back from that, nowadays pitchers are coming back stronger than ever in less than a year. I'm sure some are using illegal methods, but I also believe modern medicine has just gotten that much better over the years.

Commander of Awesome;1422393 wrote:Ray Lewis was busted for using. Can't use him in this example IMO.

I know there was plenty of suspicion and the public guilt by association with the deer antler spray company. But there is do direct bust as to what drug.

Crimson streak;1422395 wrote:Bc they get the surgery done by the best drs. In the works and the best rehab specialists.

As CoA said. They always had this, but for some reason we all of the sudden have miraculous recoveries?

wildcats20;1422398 wrote:Derrick Rose is still not playing. It's been almost 1 year.

Which actually gives him credibility as an athlete. If he was ever busted or somehow tied to a Dr. or Company with PED's I'd actually be shocked since this injury has taken the normal recovery time.

se-alum;1422400 wrote:I think time frames for return after these injuries has slowly been getting shorter and shorter over the years. I mean, look at Tommy John surgery. It used to be that you may or may not ever come back from that, nowadays pitchers are coming back stronger than ever in less than a year. I'm sure some are using illegal methods, but I also believe modern medicine has just gotten that much better over the years.

I think the point you made about slowly getting shorter is poignant. I would be fine if that was the case. But it seems like all of the sudden the recovery time is being cut in half for injuries.

Crimson streak;1422395 wrote:Bc they get the surgery done by the best drs. In the works and the best rehab specialists.

I'm going with this.

They have people working on them 24/7 during rehab.

What's that like for a normal person? 3-4 30min sessions a week max?

Bc their life is sports, therefore their time is committed fully to recovery. Only a dumb fuck wouldn't understand that.

Automatik;1422408 wrote:I'm going with this.

They have people working on them 24/7 during rehab.

What's that like for a normal person? 3-4 30min sessions a week max?

I've torn both ACL's and yes that's about the norm. 2 times a week for a time slot of about 1hr. bout 30 minutes of which is spent w stretching/warming up. Was back to playing basketball about 10-11 months after surgery.( at about 80-90%. was about 14 months for 100%)

so its not.really crazy to see them come back so quickly with the type of rehab they have

Not an ACL or knee, but Leon Hall's recovery from a torn Achilles AND came back to make the Pro Bowl, was quite amazing.

11-13-2011, completely torn Achilles
07-27-2012, completely cleared for all practice activities

He participated in some team workouts as early as May 2012. A torn Achilles used to be a devastating injury. It used to be at-minimum, a 1 year recovery. Now, we have guys coming back in 8 months AND not losing a step.

Yeah I've been wondering the same thing, these guys are coming back like nothing ever happened. I bet there's something going on with either stem cells or HGH with these guys

So if PED's are helping athletes "heal" injuries, and that is frowned upon or illegal, should you also ban players from praying to Jesus if that may cause "healing" ofknee injuries too fast as well?

If PED's are helping then let them take them.

Two Words: Stem Cells

Stem Cells should be perfectly legal and once they are will be a giant step for the medical industry. The problem is republicans and the church holding us back from a medical advancement. (BTW I'm a republican)

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7058209/peyton-manning-last-star-linked-stem-cell-therapy-espn-magazine

Just read the second paragraph really.

combination of athletes today being in better shape than 10 years ago and eating better and the best doctors using the best science. they can now make your knee stronger than it was before you hurt it. They were showing marcus lattimore last night on sports center and his workouts. his injury was gruesome and he most certainly is almost back to 100%. it does look like he rehabs 24/7 as some have mentioned. im def rooting for him, great attitude

HGH also has very little to do with this. It's still amazing though. Another interesting debate is pitchers having Tommy John surgery and coming back stronger and with a more lively arm. It makes you wonder why someone who is 23 or 24, wouldn't consider it, sit out a year and then take his chances. After a decade or more of pitching, especially as a youth where there is much less control and structure with throwing, by the time a guy gets to college or the minor league, there is almost certain to be some scar tissue and structural damage. I'd rather have it fixed early on instead of have it decimate me in my 30's.

Heck, if I'm a marginal guy who can't quite stick in the pros, I'd consider having a voluntary procedure done. You could easily find a doctor willing to justify it so that insurance covers it.

The pitchers coming back throwing harder is a result of the sport specific training that they are doing post-surgery. They should be doing this pre-surgery.

I think a few factors play into it, but the almighty $ is a huge reason. You're not going to get paid if you're on the sidelines, the harder you push your rehab the quicker they're back on the field and making $. Also, some depends on the team and the situation. Ray Lewis knew they had a pretty good team, and they needed him to be on the field, so he pushed himself and probably played earlier than he normally would have so they could have a chance at winning. Now, if you're half way through a season and your team is awful, you're probably not going to risk it to play the last few games in a meaningless season.

Fred Flintstone;1424173 wrote:The pitchers coming back throwing harder is a result of the sport specific training that they are doing post-surgery. They should be doing this pre-surgery.

Joba Chamberlain got Tommy John and he may never return to where he was

I had ACL surgery, and ran a half marathon 6 months later. I don't see what the big deal is.

brutus161;1424264 wrote:I had ACL surgery, and ran a half marathon 6 months later. I don't see what the big deal is.

Straight line running is no issue after ACL surgery,especially after 6 months. The cutting, twisting and jumping is where the real issue is after ACL surgery

Evgeni Malkin tore his ACL and MCL in Feb. 2011. By Sept. 2011 he was 100%. By the end of the next season (11-12) he played 75 out of 82 games, scored 109 points (50 goals, 59 assists). Won the Hart (League MVP), Art Ross (Leading Scorer), Ted Lindsay (MVP voted among your peers Ie NHLPA).