tdhartis said:
KellysHeroes said:
so he feels no pain, no surgery needed, riding a bike at practice, nobody else to run the ball on the team... whats the hold up?
I'm not a doctor, but I'm thinking he experienced significant inflammation in the affected area of his spine, and that's what led to the numbness he experienced. These things also usually lead to decreased strength in the affected area(s), and I'm guessing their being conservative and allowing whatever treatment he is undergoing to reduce any swelling and monitor his progress over the course of a few weeks until they feel comfortable trotting him out there again.
At that point, they'll likely know after his first few instances of contact whether he is good or should be pulled for the season. This is because it's either going to recur rather quickly, or not at all. Considering they played it as conservatively as they possibly could and allowed his body every reasonable opportunity to heal, they'll know it wasn't for lack of recovery if he relapses, but rather because his body just wasn't able to sufficiently recover on its own and he shouldn't be playing (at least without taking another more drastic treatment option.) Just because he feels no pain and can ride a bike doesn't mean the inflammation or whatever caused his injury a couple of weeks is fully healed, and if they put him back out there now and he relapsed they wouldn't know whether it happened because (a) he hadn't been given enough time to recover; or (b) his spinal condition won't naturally heal sufficiently regardless of recovery time given.
Does that make sense? The back and spine are very intricate and complicated, and not currently experiencing pain in the absence of contact doesn't necessarily mean he's okay. Rushing him back anything short of what would be considered extensive rest wouldn't allow the staff to make an accurate determination of whether or not he can or should be playing. Like I said first, I'm no expert, but I have had a total of three back surgeries (I'm 23yrs old) and have three different conditions related to my spine's alignment and its disks. I've read and heard a lot about things similar to what he has, and that's my guess.
Your analysis is somewhat accurate. However, if he had any inflammation in his spine, he would feel it.
What is likely the case is that he may have some residual issues going on in terms of coordination or muscle strength etc.
Nerves do take a very long time to heal. They have a poor blood supply. You bruise a nerve, which he essentially did, it takes a while to return to normal. It's not necessarily still damaged, but more in protection mode. Think of it this way:
Someone runs a red light, slams into your car. For the next few months every green light you drive through you break, as if you are expecting to be hit. Your body is extra careful
Likewise, your nervous system gets on edge just like that. He needs time because his body may react weird. By that I mean his body over-compensates. Lets say he gets hit in the head. Normally, any other player (except jay cutler) gets up and is uninjured. But Wilson's body panics and sends a great deal of inflammation to that area, thinking its a terrible injury again. It over reacts.
As I said above, I feel like this isn't strictly a spinal stenosis issue. I think even if he does come back he won't be utilized at all. TE coaches won't use him as a lead back... Too risky. He's safe to drop once we get to 100 pages