Sunday 30 August 2009

Booker and the Stress Fracture

To piggyback on the latest Sporting Gnomes post--isn't it interesting how basketball news is lighting up the Clemson blogosphere on the eve of the football season?

Anyways, the news about Booker has me a little more worried than what I'm reading in other quarters. First, unlike Oglesby, there's no replacing Booker's output. Second, while a low grade stress fracture in the foot should heal relatively quickly, they also tend to linger if not properly treated. Treatment basically consists of Tylenol and staying off the foot until no pain is felt. Here's a nice write-up of a 10-year study done at the University of Minnesota. The study outlines a general strategy for getting the foot back to full strength after a stress fracture. I think there's one key quote in the article relating to the strategy:

..."if you have a patient who you believe is intelligent enough to understand the negative consequences of noncompliance, then I think you could use this."

I'm sure Booker is "intelligent enough", but he's also an extreme competitor who won't likely take to the removal of several weeks from his training regimen. Let's hope he sees the long-term benefits of accumulating a little rest now...

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A blog about all Clemson Tiger University sports--football, basketball, baseball, along with the occasional South Carolina coot bashing.