Has Sports Medicine Gotten TOO Good for Philadelphia 76ers?

Have the Philadelphia 76ers gotten too much bang for the buck? Has sports medicine gotten TOO good at detecting injuries in Philadelphia 76ers players?

The Philadelphia 76ers have not had a full healthy 15 man roster for over four years. As a matter of fact, not one NBA regular season game under head coach Brett Brown with a full healthy roster. And so, the team faces the latest news of players falling to injury:

The Injury list of the Philadelphia 76ers could read like a future NBA All-Star lineup:

Center Joel Embiid – Out – Meniscus Tear
Center Jahlil Okafor – Out – Sore Knee (prerequisite for Meniscus Tear)
Point Forward Ben Simmons – Out – Jones Fracture Foot
Guard Jerryd Bayless – Out – Wrist injury
Forward Robert Covington – Out – Meniscus Tear

Plus Players on/off injured list

Now to that list, you can also add Sergio Rodriguez (hamstring) and Gerald Henderson (hip) to a on/off lineup list.  In the latest matchup to face the defending champions Cleveland Cavaliers, the team could only suit up nine players. You can guess the outcome of that game.

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In fact, the players sitting on the bench could very likely take the basketball court together next season as the starting lineup.  But how can the Philadelphia 76ers count on anything now?  Ultimately, is there something in the water which makes 76ers players more susceptible to injury?

Hornet’s Nest

The fans of the Philadelphia 76ers have been super humanly patient so far.  The reason? Everyone understood the logic.

I:   Place as many new faces in NBA competition as possible to find elite talent – CHECK
II:  Reduce team payroll and increase number of draft picks for team – CHECK
III: Find elite talent while finding players to support roster – CHECK
IV: Once players found, keep them healthy – che... er… well…scratch that.

So here we are, with a team that is scrambling to find enough healthy players.  That’s not how the plan is meant to go, is it?

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Bob Cooney Outraged

Philly.com’s Bob Cooney carries both torches and pitchforks to Castle 76ers in a recent article about that very topic.  He is incensed at the organization’s lack of transparency.  The sales point of the entire changing of the guard was the lack of the former president’s transparency. But in the new reign, nothing appears to have changed.

In conclusion, Cooney drives the point home with this very sobering thought. The Philadelphia 76ers had waited years for a foundation to a championship team, only to discover “that foundation is cracked”.  But beyond that, it’s not the health of the players that ires him, but the lack of a defined plan of health. Day-to-day is a far cry from “out for the season”, and Cooney takes the casual confusion from team leader’s to task.

In his own words

"“Someone has to become the head of the snake and get a handle on all things Sixers”"

While I agree with Cooney, I see that ask being far more complicated than you might think.

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Medical Advances Outpacing Sports Management

All professional sports are dangerous to an extent. Athletic competition, by definition, is the coordinated discipline of taking the human body to and beyond current limits. Whether that be speed, strength, agility, endurance or a combination of all, sports drives the human body to it’s limits and beyond.

Daily Knicks

After all, human bodies are not machines. On one hand, they break with each exertion.  On the other hand, the entire process of training is a series of breaking the human tissues which strengthens in the healing process. In fact, that strengthening is known as hypertrophy.

But some tissues do not get stronger. Muscles do. Bones do. Soft tissues? Not so much. In earlier times, that all fell into the category of sprains, strains, bumps, and bruises.  Simpler times really.

Medicine Sees All, But Does It Know All?

Now, medical imaging has improved to the point where orthopedic surgeons can road map everything in a sore knee: tendons, cartilage, and ligaments. Tears, ruptures, rips, and virtually all abnormalities care determined beforehand.  Each tear, rupture, rip, and abnormality can land a professional athlete on the bench indefinitely.

But what is “normal wear and tear” in a professional athlete’s body?  What is the threshold distinguishing between the normal course of an athlete’s training/competition versus the need for medical intervention?

Don’t Blame Doc Martin

Now that the Philadelphia 76ers are filling up the hospital beds, the fans are getting worried, and angry.  Who’s responsible?  In the modern era, everything is the fault of someone… else.  Accidents do not just happen. Someone is responsible.

Swarm and Sting

So who gets tagged with the tsunami of Philadelphia 76ers injuries?

Well, nobody.  That’s right.  No one.  Let me explain.

As a matter of fact, the Philadelphia 76ers hired Dr. David T. Martin to coincide with drafting Joel Embiid. He is the premier expert in the blossoming field of sports science and medicine.

Embiid Is Priority

His number one priority was getting Embiid onto the basketball court at the peak of health. After two surgeries, two international trips to rehab his foot, and two years, Joel Embiid did play in the NBA.

But the care of Joel Embiid was not simply acting in the capacity of travel agent to the latest and greatest international rehabilitation clinics. He monitors sleep, hydration, nutrition, and exertion.  All of that data is compared to workloads.  The objective? Determine the optimal inputs to land the best outputs. In the end, the success of Joel Embiid in the NBA is the result of many efforts to get him there.

Role Hasn’t Changed, But Medicine Has

But the role of Martin has not changed.  In his current capacity, he continues to bring 76ers’ players to full health.  And yet, the questions have yet to be asked.  What is the threshold of intervention? Is 100% healthy the objective? Or does the team along some banging and bruising, and even some minor tears of the Meniscus, before surgery becomes a viable option?

Air Alamo

You already know that the Philadelphia 76ers are not competing for a championship. But they will be in the discussion next year.  In the off-season, answers to these questions need to be answered.  Now that each imperfection in an athlete’s body can be discovered in virtual real time, does it mean shutting down the player?

Bad Medicine, Better NBA?

And so, years ago, players played through the pain. Or they just rested until pain subsided. As a matter of fact, the answer to all of this is not up to me, or Dr. Martin.

Ultimately, the answer lies in the consensus of athletes, physicians, and the NBA.  That conversation has yet to take place.

And so, the Philadelphia 76ers will continue to get “nicked up”. After all, players will continue to find themselves diagnosed with injuries. And so, surgeons will continue to recommend surgery. And in the end, the situation will continue to frustrate fans and sports writers, all seeking the person ultimately responsible.  Eventually the NBA will debate the issue.  In the meantime, Dr. David T. Martin will continue to restore as much health to the players.

After all, it’s what he does.  On one hand, no one needs to worry about the team this year. On the other hand,  the Philadelphia 76ers need to establish safe protocols for next year, or face more of the same.  In conclusion, the status quo translates into the same vicious cycle. And so in that same vein, to win the race to a championship, we’ve got to get these cars out of the pits.