SB Nation User Blog: LovinBlue

The 2009 Indianapolis Colts Will Be Just Fine

LovinBlue — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:55:25 -0000

The 2009 Indianapolis Colts Will Be Just Fine

Nice article on Bleacher Report.

Fun discussion over at Canal Street Chronicles

LovinBlue — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:50:54 -0000

Fun discussion over at Canal Street Chronicles

Head over and offer your entry on what single NFL rule you would change if you were the Commish. They've got a couple of interesting ones...

Marlin Jackson's Football Academy

LovinBlue — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:14:13 -0000

Marlin Jackson's Football Academy

More Colts doing good for kids...

Dr. Blue House Calls - Brett Favre

LovinBlue — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:26:51 -0000

My original intention in starting the "Dr. Blue" series was to focus on injuries to our own team, but injuries to two players NOT on our team have piqued my interest. So just as doctors do with their particularly infirm patients, Dr. Blue is going on the road to make some House Calls. First up, Hattiesburg, MS…

Brett Favre, QB
Date of Injury: Unknown, likely in 2nd half of 2008 season
Nature of Injury: Partially torn right biceps tendon
Typical Rehab Process/Duration: Depending on the severity of the tear either undergo surgery to clean up ro re-attach the tendon; or complete the tear through physical exercise or surgery. Rehab to improve strength, flexibility and range of motion. Recovery can take several weeks to months, up to 4 months to return to "heavy labor."
Players who have suffered similar injuries: John Elway, Norman Hand, Dusty Dvoracek

via www.greenpinstripes.com

In the first two thirds of the 2008 season, the Jets went 8-3 and Brett threw 20 TDs to 14 INTs. But he started showing signs of injury in the final third, when he threw 2 TDs and 8 INTs on way to a 1-4 record. On December 29, we learned that the source of his pain was his biceps tendon; and on February 11, presumably no longer able to play, he announced his Second Annual Retirement. But not unsurprisingly, Favreapalooza has continued, and we've watched over the past several weeks as Favre has tried to throw, tried to rupture the tendon on his own, and finally undergo surgery sometime around June 1.

Brett's injury was interesting to me because of the constant remarks that a complete tear of the biceps tendon would not only NOT impact his ability, but it would actually relieve his pain. As someone who last studied anatomy in high school (more than 20 years ago for those of you keeping score at home), this simply didn’t make sense to me.

On investigation this is what I learned… the biceps tendon connects the biceps muscle to the bone. There is a distal biceps tendon at the elbow joint, and a proximal biceps tendon at the shoulder joint (About.com: Orthopedics). Rupturing the distal biceps tendon results in loss of strength at the elbow, and a decreased ability to turn the forearm palm-up (such as to turn a door knob). Injuring the proximal biceps tendon results in pain at the shoulder similar to what is experienced in a rotator cuff tear. However, an injury to the proximal biceps tendon is not as devastating because it involves only ONE of two heads of the biceps tendon (hence the name "BI"ceps). There is actually another tendinous attachment at the shoulder, so the muscle is still held to the bone. Given what we know of Favre's symptoms, it is safe to assume his injury was a proximal biceps tendon tear.

Here's where it gets interesting… one side-effect of a ruptured proximal biceps tendon is that the biceps muscle bunches up in the arm, a condition known as "Popeye Muscle." Here is a picture of what this looks like:

via orthoinfo.aaos.org

Let's just say I hope that if Brett does return to play in 2009, he wears a sleeve on his right arm at all times.

Given what we've seen in the media, and the Vikings' continued interest in Favre, I assume that we will see him return to play, and that he has every opportunity to look like Jet Favre of early 2008, not late 2008. We can take a lesson from John Elway. In 1997 Elway ruptured his biceps tendon in the exhibition opener in Mexico City on August 4. He started throwing only 2 days later, and that year went on to win the Super Bowl… against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.

Dr. Blue's Prognosis - Likelihood of Game 1 Appearance: Medium

Dr. Blue's Health of the Franchise - Ugoh

LovinBlue — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:37:40 -0000

Caution: this post touches on a very sensitive injury and may cause grown men to double over in sympathy pain. It may also cause grown women to channel their inner Beavis & Butthead in writing a blog post about it...

Tony Ugoh, LT
Date of Injury: September 14, 2008
Nature of Injury: Unspecified groin injury
Typical Rehab Process/Duration: Depends on nature and severity of injury, but for lower grade injuries typically RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Recovery ranges from a few weeks for grade 1 injuires, to 3 months for grade 3.
Players who have suffered similar injuries: LaDainian Tomlinson, Terence Newman, the entire New Orleans Saints' kicking squad

via www.colts.com

Against Minnesota in Game 2, Tony Ugoh suffered what was later reported as a groin injury. He was helped off the field at the end of the first half of the game, and did not return to play in the second half. He didn't play in the next game (against Jacksonville), and the following week was a bye. He played on special teams and as a reserve in the next 3 games, but did not start until the October 27 game against Tennessee, 6 weeks after his injury.

My research surfaced two types of acute groin injury: (1) resulting from direct trauma common in contact sports; and (2) muscle strain in which there is a "forceful adduction of the hips…" i.e., closing your legs really fast (something that apparently accounts for 10% of ice hockey-related injuries).

Until looking at this case a little more closely, I used to think that a groin injury was simply a strained or torn muscle on the inner thigh up near the hoohoo. Or that it was the vanity name for when baseball players are hit in the giblets by a line drive. In fact these are but two examples of several possible injuries classified as a groin injury. The groin consists of the area where the abdomen meets the legs and includes the structures of the perineum. Basically, that means all those muscles between the pubic arch and the tailbone, inside and between the legs. Think of it as the area covered by someone's tighty whities. Seriously, think about it. Folks, there are a lot of muscles down there, and more importantly there are a lot of muscles you don't want to strain, tear or otherwise injure… look up "perineum" on Wikipedia to get an idea (caution: probably not work friendly unless you work in a hospital or clinic).

As wild as our imagination might let us get, it is most likely that, based on his position and role in the offense, Ugoh was injured in an aggressive slide over to protect Manning from an oncoming defender. Further, based on the speed with which he returned to the field, it is probably safe to classify the injury as no higher than severity grade 2, characterized by moderate discomfort and limited ability to run and jump. That's not to diminish the pain he was probably experiencing, but had the injury been a complete rupture, he may have required surgery, and rehab would have probably taken months, not weeks.

In looking for information on recovery from groin injuries, I did find some nifty rehab aids with such names as the "McDavid Groin Strap" and my personal favorite, the "Vulkan Warm Pants" (a Best Seller!). I hope I am never in a position to require such a device...

Given that Ugoh returned to the starting lineup after 6 weeks, and given that he's had a few months' rest, I am optimistic that he will be ready for game 1.

Dr. Blue's Prognosis - Likelihood of Game 1 Appearance: Very High

Getting to Know One Another

LovinBlue — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:01:21 -0000

One of the series that KingRichard had proposed before his untimely move to his own blog was one in which he would interview different participants in Stampede Blue so we could get to know one another a little better. In the interest of perpetuating that concept, I thought I'd do a simple poll to learn about your interests in areas other than the Colts.

This poll doesn't stray very far, and in fact only crosses conference boundaries. Simply put, what NFC team do you root for, if any?

Me? I'm a Green Bay fan for the simple reason that I really did like Brett Favre (mostly past tense now), and of course one of the greatest QBs to play at Cal is now at the helm there. But I also like the Giants for their most recent SB win, the Eagles because of DeSean Jackson, the 49ers for what Singletary is doing, and the Bucs because I once went to a game in the Sombrero.

Poll

Who do you root for in the NFC?

Arizona Cardinals

3 votes

Atlanta Falcons

1 votes

Carolina Panthers

2 votes

Chicago Bears

3 votes

Dallas Cowboys

1 votes

Detroit Lions

1 votes

Green Bay Packers

4 votes

Minnesota Vikings

1 votes

New Orleans Saints

11 votes

New York Giants

12 votes

Philadelphia Eagles

5 votes

San Francisco 49ers

0 votes

Seattle Seahawks

2 votes

St. Louis Rams

3 votes

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2 votes

Washington Redskins

1 votes

Anyone who beats the Jags, Titans or Texans

7 votes

There's another conference?

8 votes

67 votes | Poll has closed

Non-interview with Eric Foster

LovinBlue — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:54:37 -0000

Non-interview with Eric Foster

This is one of the strangest "articles" ever...

Harrison as a Buc?

LovinBlue — Sat, 30 May 2009 00:57:11 -0000

Harrison as a Buc?

Note the source... take with the appropriate dose of salt...

Manning keynote speaker at Acadian Ambulance Lunch

LovinBlue — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:14:04 -0000

Manning keynote speaker at Acadian Ambulance Lunch

Anyone know if the video is still available? I had put the link aside earlier this week intending to sit down to watch it, but the video has been removed from this site :-(

Not football-related: the NBA Playoffs have nothing on these competitors

LovinBlue — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:39:20 -0000

Not football-related: the NBA Playoffs have nothing on these competitors

The games begin again tonight at 8:00 ET.