Anatomy Of Joel Embiid
By Bret Stuter
The Navicular bone and its history
In the past, most foot injuries were not fully understood, and were simply considered a simple “car repair” . Surgeons bolted small foot bones together as best as they could and sent the athlete back out to smash the bone once more. The horror stories of the navicular bone recovery is not a distant memory either, folks. There has been a history of this injury in the NBA for years, and the results have been mixed:
on the disappointing side, Bill Walton played in just 259 of the possible 738 games after his injury, while 7′ 6″ Yao Ming played in 82 of his possible 258 games
while on the more positive outlook, Kevin Mchale played in 419 out of 492 games and Zydrunas Ilgauskas played in 756 out of 902 games..
In recent years, the treatment options have improved greatly. What have doctors learned about the injury? Well, breaking down the components, there are three areas to be addressed in the injury.
The first is the diagnosis. Due to the area, and the complexity, of the injury, the imaging of the injury requires more detailed process. A simple XRay may appear completely normal. A true diagnosis can optimally be made with an MRI, a CT scan, or a bone scan. An MRI or a CT scan will allow the fracture orientation to be identified. In addition, those studies will allow determination of whether the fracture is complete or incomplete.
The second is the injury itself. Due to the location, size, and load bearing features of the foot skeleton, the slightest misalignment of any bone or bones in repair can be devastating. The injury is either “undisplaced” or “displaced”. In an undisplaced injury, the fracture occurs without reorienting the alignment of the bones. Simply casting the foot and staying off that injured foot for the first six weeks can achieve a 90% rate of fully healing after a four month process. Sometimes in an undisplaced injury, surgery is still the best option. This assures the bones remain in alignment throughout the time required to heal the fracture.
In a displaced injury, surgery is required. The surgeon must now reduce the fracture (set it into exact position), hold it in place with screws, and introduce a bone graft to promote healing of the bone back to full strength.
The third is the vascular system – the blood flow system. The foot is not a well nourished area of the human body in terms of the blood supply it receives. It is at the farthest point from the life giving lungs and blood pumping heart, so it tends to be the least satisfied when the body is subject to any stress. If you’ve stood outside in the winter for long, you may have experienced a pins and needles feeling in your foot. That’s just the body cutting blood off to the feet so that more vital organs remain warm and nourished. But that blood is imperative to heal a fractured bone. So what is there to do…. um… wait.
The struggle facing Joel Embiid and the Sixers with this injury is ensuring that good nutrition races to the injury site, while ensuring that toxins are eliminated. That’s sports medicine. That’s sports science. That’s the brainchild of Dr. David T. Martin.
So what? Well, research on slow healing bone fractures have shown remarkable improvement with a strict regiment of diet, fluid, supplements, and where appropriate, exercise. Diet ensures a good healthy and stress free body. Fluids ensure good blood flow and effective kidney functions. Supplements ensure the injured area is getting a supercharged blood stream loaded with the building blocks needed to repair the fracture quickly. And finally appropriate exercise ensures that the blood is flowing to nourish the site.
After an initial healing phase with a cast, Embiid’s cast was removed. As all signs were positive , Joel has graduated from a elevated cast, to a weight bearing cast with crutches., to pain free ambulation. Now he is learning an exercise routine, checking his progress, and receiving clinical confirmation that the injured site is fully healed.
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