Source: Gronkowski break not identical to first one

[aluminum seats]

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

Are you saying Gronkowski's A DOG?!?!!!!!

(Just trying to misinterpret something in the time-honored tradition of sports radio, espn, etc.)

 

[Wax Frog]

Plus, I do my work with rats, not humans

Ah, so this is your lab!

 

[PatsFan2]

Source: Gronkowski's Forearm will be a 100% before Training camp! All this source crap is driving me nuts.

 

[blackglass3]

What, exactly, are you saying?

I'm saying at very least let's not just declare him OUT should we make it to the Super Bowl. Maybe he practices the week leading up to it. Maybe BB even plants a 'source' that says he has a good chance of playing. Even trot him out for the first play of the game. Just some kind of gamesmanship that doesn't let our opponent off the hook of having to plan for him playing.

Or the flip side of it, he doesn't practice the whole week and then play him for the first series while Jim Harbaugh or Mike Smith scramble to figure out who is going to cover him.

I know nothing about broken bones, so I am just thinking out loud so to speak. But there might be a shred of an advantage so I hope we go for it.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Players break bones and come back 100% all the time. Where the hell is all of this doom and gloom coming from?

 

[MTM558]

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.

As someone who has done martial arts for over 10 years, let me tell you that learning to fall "safer" does not mean injury will be avoided. Just that the chance of injury can be reduced.

In Gronk's case, you had a 270 pound man jump at least 4 feet into the air for a ball and then begin to roll and brace himself for impact. A man that large, moving as fast as he was and falling onto a hard surface had little chance of escaping injury, unless of course he landed on his feet.

His forearm was compromised and unfortunately broke. His shoulder would have too, in all likelihood. Even if he extended and landed on his chest or back (as many other players do) he would have likely suffered a rib or back injury (in addition to the one he already suffers from).

You see players lay out for a ball and hit the turf who walk away a little dinged but relatively ok. But doing so as high in the air as Gronk was?

All in all, this was just an unfortunate occurrence

 

[PatsDeb]

Well, I hope BB called Albert to give him the news.

On a serious note, I wonder how this affects Gronk going forward? It's almost worse that it was in a different place, because now we'll all be worrying every time he falls hard that he'll have a new break because the bone is weak or because it's vulnerable to a stress fracture at the ends. I love NFL football, but it really does give you pause to see the pain some of these guys go through to play...

 

[Haterproof]

I said a special for Gronk today. Hopefully he gets that forarm fixed by the best doctors in the bussiness & have a great rehabilitation process. Then return back to being the best TE in the league for the Defending SB Champions!

 

[ausbacker]

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.

I would advise against intramedullary rods. They aren't as effective as people would have you believe (I've seen them first hand ruin blossoming sporting careers and create subsequent surgeries more than once). They can create a series of ongoing issues given the nature of their insertion.

For mine, the best healing is time. Nothing can substitute the natural process.

 

[Rob0729]

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.

No offense, but you may be going overboard here. First, I don't think it is advisable to wait a year to take out the hardware. I know when I broke my ankle and had a plate and screws put in in my 20s that I had them removed six months after my first surgery and it was an outpatient procedure with local anestitics. I was only off my foot for a week.

Also, I think giving diagnoses of his arm never being the same again is a little silly without even seeing his X-rays. I think it was just a freak injury. Plenty of players have played with hardware in their arms and legs and never have a problem.

 

[dannydyn]

Good explanation for those who are failing to understand what's going on exactly...

Breaking Down the Details of Rob Gronkowski's Injury | Bleacher Report

 

[RhodyPatriot]

Ah, man, that still stinks. Thanks for the link though - -I thought I heard Steve Burton say on TV this a.m. the break was in a different spot than the previous one, but wasn't sure.

I'd bet he could have gone 200 plays without landing just right to make that happen. Instead, bam .. one play.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Gronk needs to rethink how he's training and what he's taking "supplement wise". Young man his age should not be snapping bones on freak plays.

 

[juny]

so if there is extra stress/force at the end of the plates, does that mean he's at risk of future injuries like this?

 

[ausbacker]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Gronk needs to rethink how he's training and what he's taking "supplement wise". Young man his age should not be snapping bones on freak plays.

You don't have a real solid argument to put forward this position. I've seen fit, healthy and young elite athletes snap their take off leg high jumping, long jumping, snap an arm whilst weightlifting and even seen a person require surgery to their meniscus tearing it as they go out of a car. Freak things happen, especially when you're pushing the envelope physically.

 

[Paul_Newman]

just not his year...unlucky and sucks but happens in the NFL..will be back strong next year then him and ahern can finally be on the field together

Don't bet on it. Face it, both have proven to be injury prone.

 

[Paul_Newman]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Gronk needs to rethink how he's training and what he's taking "supplement wise". Young man his age should not be snapping bones on freak plays.

Gronk is built like a bull. I highly doubt its a lack of strength or conditioning. You can't control how your bones react to contact.

Some people's bones are more likely to break compared to others. It doesn't make him weak, its genetics. He can't help it.

 

[Jackson 2]

Don't bet on it. Face it, both have proven to be injury prone.

What are you hoping for in terms of their futures?

 

[Paul_Newman]

What are you hoping for in terms of their futures?

I hope both have long and productive careers. I don't wish injury on anyone. I'm just saying both have shown to be injury prone unfortunately.

Hopefully they can stay healthy. Gronk sat out in 2009 with a back injury. His injury problems are well noted. Which is why he slipped to the second round, otherwise there's no question he would have been a first round pick.

 

[Joker]

whatever the future holds for them it's a helluva lot better than YOURS...YOU are dead...

 

[chicowalker]

just not his year...unlucky and sucks but happens in the NFL..will be back strong next year then him and ahern can finally be on the field together

and Ballard...