Source: Gronkowski break not identical to first one

[RobertWeathers]

Rodney Harrison suffered a multiple arm fracture in 2003 SB and never broke it again during a game.

The surgery/pins compromised the strength of the bone.

He needs rest and time for the bones to heal fuse completely.

Hes not elderly so osteoporosis should not be a concern.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

So, if Gronk didn't break the same bone the original break should be doing very well, right?

The CSNNE article quoted the "source" as saying that when they did surgery on the arm yesterday for the new break, the original break was all healed and intact.

 

[RayClay]

It might be a good idea for Gronk to practice playing more conservatively, or learning to roll/fall (martial arts?) He might just be too damn athletic for someone that size/weight.

It's about production, not about fantastic athleticism. Learning to be as productive while not putting himself at risk as much (I'm thinking about the self imposed piledriver/flip from last year) might be a maturing process on the way to a long, productive career.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

So how long does it usually take for the arm to go back to normal and the increased risk for re-fracture goes away?

 

[BradyManny]

Docs not up in arms on Gronkowski decision | Boston Herald

The title of the article is a huge leap from what the doctors in that article saying.

Curran's source is probably someone close to Gill, naturally there is going to be a bias in the doctor's favor. Just as with the Red Sox stuff, when something goes wrong medically, there's a lot of crap thrown out there.

 

[JackBauer]

So, if Gronk didn't break the same bone the original break should be doing very well, right? And Gronk was practicing 2 or 3 weeks after his last surgery if I remember correctly, right? Super Bowl is almost 3 weeks away...just saying.

What, exactly, are you saying?

 

[BradyManny]

Actually this news is more disconcerting. It makes it seem like this will always have to be something we will need to worry about with him.

"It could've broken the same way in 3 years" line is PR spin from someone close to the doctor. Bank on it.

Either that or we've come across the first career threatening broken arm...

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

He needs Adamantium.

Gronk is no Goody Two Shoes.

Regards,
Chris

 

[aluminum seats]

Not just increased stress points, the bone beyond the fracture weakens during the healing process as the body focuses on rebuilding the area of the fracture at the same time lack of use is causing atrophy .

Not sure that forearm will ever be trustworthy again, if it ever was. And certainly not until both plates are removed. Which wouldn't be advisable for a year or so and requires another procedure that poses it's own short term risks (removing screws that will leave holes in bone that will have to fill in again and heal over time.

Gronk by nature lands hard and like that a lot. Color me concerned about Gronk going forward, period.

This seems to me to be far more alarmist than is called for. "Not sure that forearm will ever be trustworthy again?" Based on what? From everything doctors are saying, this clearly seems to be fluky.

The only thing I would question (as someone who isn't a doctor) is the benefit of the plate, if it merely creates greater weakness elsewhere in the arm. Set the fracture, let it heal. Done. But I don't see any reason to be colored concerned or otherwise going forward.

 

[DaBruinz]

I gotta love all the negative speculation from long time posters who have, suddenly, become medical experts.

Personally, I don't understand why they used a plate instead of using a titanium rod down the length of the bone. The rod would have made it much less likely for any further damage. I also don't understand why the plate didn't run the entire length of the bone to ensure that something like this wouldn't happen. Especially if they know that the plate creates a weak spot in the bone right at the end of the plate.

People saying that Gronk didn't land all that hard really don't know what they are talking about. You had a 270 lb man go 5 or 6 feet into the air and come down with nearly his entire weight on his arm. That's a lot of force even with that protective sleeve on it.

Finally, I hope that the surgery to fix the new break was done differently so that the bone isn't compromised further. I want to see Gronk on the sidelines for the big one after the Pats take care of business this weekend.

 

[neuronet]

Not identical to first one, but caused by first one. If he hadn't had that original break, this one wouldn't have happened. These osteopermissive bone cements they use, in my experience, can take a few months for the bone to truly grow into the cement where the bone screws are placed. Maybe they didn't use any bone cement. Plus, I do my work with rats, not humans

 

[DarrylS]

I gotta love all the negative speculation from long time posters who have, suddenly, become medical experts.

Personally, I don't understand why they used a plate instead of using a titanium rod down the length of the bone. The rod would have made it much less likely for any further damage. I also don't understand why the plate didn't run the entire length of the bone to ensure that something like this wouldn't happen. Especially if they know that the plate creates a weak spot in the bone right at the end of the plate.

People saying that Gronk didn't land all that hard really don't know what they are talking about. You had a 270 lb man go 5 or 6 feet into the air and come down with nearly his entire weight on his arm. That's a lot of force even with that protective sleeve on it.

Finally, I hope that the surgery to fix the new break was done differently so that the bone isn't compromised further. I want to see Gronk on the sidelines for the big one after the Pats take care of business this weekend.

You forgot all that weight went down on a very hard surface... the surface they use has some padding but not all that much..

I do think he could benefit from martial arts or similar training to learn how to fall beter..

 

[nabwong]

Gronk... the best regular season TE ever........ sorry couldn't resist.

 

[BradyManny]

I gotta love all the negative speculation from long time posters who have, suddenly, become medical experts.

Personally, I don't understand why they used a plate instead of using a titanium rod down the length of the bone. The rod would have made it much less likely for any further damage. I also don't understand why the plate didn't run the entire length of the bone to ensure that something like this wouldn't happen. Especially if they know that the plate creates a weak spot in the bone right at the end of the plate.

People saying that Gronk didn't land all that hard really don't know what they are talking about. You had a 270 lb man go 5 or 6 feet into the air and come down with nearly his entire weight on his arm. That's a lot of force even with that protective sleeve on it.

Finally, I hope that the surgery to fix the new break was done differently so that the bone isn't compromised further. I want to see Gronk on the sidelines for the big one after the Pats take care of business this weekend.

Wait, so you chastise everyone who is skeptical of the report and then offer up your own medical opinion on it?

Come on, we're all capable of using logic. If you can find me a situation comparable to the one Gronkowski went through, fine. But until then, I'll maintain the medical staff probably made some mistakes, and I'm forever skeptical of Gill after some similarly controversial stuff with the Sox.

The fact is, let's remember the source. Curran obviously has a source friendly to the team doctor - doesn't anyone remember what he was writing around the time of the Brady ACL stuff? How Brady's knee was in danger, how he didn't go through the team doctor, how Brady had awful MRSA and was never going to play again? How Brady would be lucky if he could walk on the damn thing before it was eaten away by infection? And what a fool his doctor out in LA was...it was all pro-Pats-med-staff, and none of it panned out.

Just consider the source.

 

[aluminum seats]

Come on, we're all capable of using logic. If you can find me a situation comparable to the one Gronkowski went through, fine. But until then, I'll maintain the medical staff probably made some mistakes

Not sure how this squares with your earlier post in this thread that it was simply unlucky and that's football?

I think you were probably more on target before than here.

 

[BradyManny]

Not sure how this squares with your earlier post in this thread that it was simply unlucky and that's football?

I think you were probably more on target before than here.

I don't recall this post. I've said that there was probably mistakes made, unfortunately.

I'm obviously no medical expert, but I watch a lot of football (that's my version of "I stayed at a Holiday Inn"), and can't remember a broken arm in mid November derailing a guy's season through the postseason and potentially the SB. That's all I'm saying. If someone out there can cite this happening before, I'll lay off the medical staff. Until then, I'm not buying what Curran is feeding us.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Absolutely... he could have gone to win the Superbowl, and break his forearm in the off-season, hand-spinning one of his porn star girlfriends.... But, no, it had to be on his first reception attempt of the post season....

Hope this double-fracture doesn't compromise his playing abilities down the road.

Well I for one will be wicked pissed if he breaks it again this summer hand-spinning a chunky porn starlet

 

[aluminum seats]

I don't recall this post. I've said that there was probably mistakes made, unfortunately.

I'm obviously no medical expert, but I watch a lot of football (that's my version of "I stayed at a Holiday Inn"), and can't remember a broken arm in mid November derailing a guy's season through the postseason and potentially the SB. That's all I'm saying. If someone out there can cite this happening before, I'll lay off the medical staff. Until then, I'm not buying what Curran is feeding us.

My bad. That was "Brady to Moss," not you.

But anyway, his broken arm didn't derail him to through the playoffs, really--it almost certainly wasn't 100 percent, but it just got messed up again.

As you say, I'm no expert either, but it seems to me that this can just be filed under "one of those things." The Pats should always continue to monitor all aspects of the organization, of course, including the medical staff.

 

[VJCPatriot]

It might be a good idea for Gronk to practice playing more conservatively, or learning to roll/fall (martial arts?) He might just be too damn athletic for someone that size/weight.

It's about production, not about fantastic athleticism. Learning to be as productive while not putting himself at risk as much (I'm thinking about the self imposed piledriver/flip from last year) might be a maturing process on the way to a long, productive career.

That's a good idea. I believe certain martial arts like judo they teach you how to throw people as well as how to fall correctly to minimize damage to yourself.

 

[juxtapoz15]

Some of you might not find this interesting at all, but oh well.... The first Attached is a pic from the website mentioned of a forearm break with a plate and the second is of a xray of when my dog shattered her leg.

I thought that they looked similar so I thought I would share