This Weeks Bleeping Idiot of the Week is…. Shawne Merriman, LB of the San Diego Chargers.
This Pro Bowl linebacker decided he doesn’t need ligaments in his knee to play football. Smart move! Merriman has tears in both his PCL and LCL in his left knee, and will forgo surgery this year and play though the pain. He visited 4 different doctors, all who told him that he should have the surgery..so what does he do??? He decides NOT to have the surgery. by playing with tears in two of his ligaments, he is risking an injury that would be fatal to his NFL career. He could possibly tear all of the ligaments in his knee by continuing to play now, as well as cause irreparable damage to his meniscus. Remember what a beast Daunte Culpepper used to be before he tore 3 ligaments in his right knee in 2005? He has never been the same since then. Basically, that devastating injury ruined his career. I guarantee you that if Daunte had the choice to prevent such an injury from happening he would take it in a heartbeat. Merriman said that what it comes down to is the fact that “He just wants to play football.” He says that he knows whats on the table, but unless he has suffered the kind of devastating knee injury that ended Daunte Culpepper’s career, then I really do not think he DOES realize what is at eisk here. This is a selfish act that could end up costing him and his team pain that could have been thwarted.
Merriman’s is the league leader with 39 1/2 sacks in the past three years
Surgery Now vs Career Ending Injury… hmmm.. Tough One. According to my doctoral calculations….. I would choose the surgery now.
August 28th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
What a dope. There’s really nothing more I can say.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:30 am
Agreed
August 29th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Disagree.
Ligaments are static stabilizer of joints. Doctor examines you on a table with your muscles relaxed and he can stress your ligaments and open your joints up (laxity). Muscles are dynamic stabilizers of joints, when fired in synergy they hold our joints and limbs together (if they don’t you have instability). Ankle sprains are torn ligaments of the ankle. How often do you hear of surgery for ankle sprains? Ligaments never heal perfectly. And if more than one of a joint is torn, then yes the joint can be unstable. Laxity is what the doctor tests. Instability is what the athlete would complain of. You can have laxity but not be unstable. If Merriman can run, cut, pivot, plant without symptoms, then I would clear him to play WITHOUT surgery.
Risk of surgery: stiffness, accelerate arthritis, articular cartilage damage, prolong rehabilitaion, muscle atrophy, nerve damage, blood clot, infection, amputation, death.
Marc Silberman, M.D.
http://www.njsportsmed.com
August 29th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
True, however…and i am no doctor so correct me if i am wrong but the injury he sustained to his knee is a little more complex than a sprained ankle and knees are not something to be messing around with….and when you have to go see 4 different doctors just to find 1 who tells you what you want to hear, i feel like that says it all right there
August 30th, 2008 at 11:00 am
In response to Marc:
I have torn my ACL twice, both times in my left knee and had reconstructive surgery both times. They were both acute injuries and the second tear was not related to the first. The second time that I injured my knee, I went to multiple doctors, all of which told me that I had stretched my ACL and that I should go through some physical therapy to try to strengthen my knee. So I went to physical therapy for a couple months, and then went back to my doctor and both he and my physical therapist cleared me to play - soccer - again. A few days later, I laced up my cleats and headed out onto the soccer field, supportive knee brace and all. The very first time that I put weight on my left leg and tried to cut, my leg gave out and I tore both my ACL and my meniscus…and I ended up having to get my second surgery on that knee…and the rehab long and vigorous…
What the reports have said is that most, if not all, of the doctors that Merriman has visited have told him that they recommend surgery, however they have ultimately left the decision up to him.
December 8th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Fantasy Football’s Week 12 is crunch time. ESPN leagues have two weeks left in the season—others have three weeks. The final push is here and hopefully you are still in the hunt for a playoff berth…