RE: impressions of the first game

[Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu (Kestutis Kveraga)]

--- You wrote:
Kestutis, as our resident medical expert, can you tell me what you think
is going on with Chris Herren's ankle?  It's been two weeks, and he should
have another ten days or more before he comes off the IR.  How
long does it take to get over a sprained ankle?  How long do you think he
might be out for?  Maybe Pitino was just taking the pressure off him?
what do you think?
--- end of quote ---

I'm no expert, I just stayed at the Holiday Inn Express last night :)
I don't know what's going on with his ankle, and even the Celtics' medical staff may not know. As I mentioned in a previous post, eversion sprains (ankle rolling to the inside) can be a lot trickier than inversion sprains.  Tendons of important pushoff and stabilization muscles (flexor hallucis longus, flexor digitorum longus, and tibialis posterior) pass around the ankle on the medial side to their insertion points on the underside of the foot, and the deltoid  ligament that supports the ankle on that side is thick and wide, which may mean that it takes longer to heal. Also, the ankle joint capsule typically opens a bit during a such a sprain, and that takes a while to settle down. I assume there's no avulsion or any other bone damage, or else he wouldn't be walking around on it and would be out a couple of months (vis. the Grant Hill situation). The healing depends on the extent of the damage, age, and genetics, and ranges from a few days to a year or more (the complete recovery). 

Also, Pitino's said that Herren needs to lose 17 lbs. of 'weight' (I'll assume he meant fat), which takes a least 2 months (losing more than 1-2 lbs. a week virtually guarantees losing muscle mass along with the fat - undesirable for most athletes). Obviously, he can play while shedding the fat, if his ankle is OK. While I'd like to see Herren play as much as anyone, I think Pitino did the smart thing by placing him on the IL. (I also agree with his other choice, for Walter can now concentrate more on his real career - music. Let basketball players play basketball, and let musicians play music.)