Prominent sports doctor Brian Sutterer has a theory about LeBron James’ injury and it’s good news for Lakers fans.
Sutterer, who has build a sizeable online following in recent years, was initially concerned that James had suffered a nasty structural injury to his mid-foot. But he now believes the damage was done to his plantar fascia.
In his latest YouTube video, Sutterer explained why that was a much better outcome for LeBron and the Lakers.
“Plantar fasciitis, or a partial plantar fascia tear, while it can be really painful and debilitating, is not something that is harmful to the rest of a player’s well being and longevity with their foot,” he said.
“… In fact, when someone does completely rupture their plantar fascia, you don’t go back in and surgically repair it. You basically immobilise them in a boot, as we’ve seen being done with LeBron, usually for a period of about two weeks, and then gradually work them out of the boot and back to their activity as tolerated.”
Sutterer also pointed to a report from NBA.com’s Mark Medina which claimed James had no structural damage and would be able to play through any remaining pain once the initial pain has settled. Sutterer said this also pointed towards a planter facia injury.
“The plantar facia is not something I think of as being structurally integral to the foot. Yes it plays a role in supporting the arch and you obviously want to have a nice in-tact plantar facia, but it’s not the same structural support as something like a mid-foot ligament or the lisfranc ligament. You can tolerate a little bit more pain (than a mid-foot injury) because it’s not something that’s going to cause the entire foot to collapse…”
Sutterer added that while it was good news that James likely avoided a severe injury, he did expect him to experience varying levels of pain for quite some time due to the persistent nature of the injury.
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