Knowshon Moreno hurt in first practice session (1 Viewer)

[sportsphysio]

A hamstring "strain" is actually a tear in the muscle tissue. What we usually refer to as a torn hamstring is really when the tendon attaching the muscle to the bone is no longer attached. From personal experience, I can vouch that a strained hamstring will make a pop and will hurt a lot and can take quite a while to fully recover. Strains are graded 1-3, with 3 being the most severe. When I injured mine, I couldn't run full speed for months. But then again, young Mr. Moreno is in better shape than was this 40-something weekend warrior playing the annual Thanksgiving football game with family. Here's hoping he has a mild strain.

I am an athletic trainer, but only knowing what can be expected in a basic hamstring rehab protocol is totally different since every person's rehab is different in one form or another. Even the slightest pull is a tear in the muscle. When we see tear we think of a rupture. Tears in the muscle belly of the hamstring do heal faster than tears in the tendon because of the mass number of fibers in the muscle of an athlete compared to the tendon. The blood flow in the area, the number of fibers involved and swelling control are other factors involved in the estimated time of recovery. These are all things the media can not know unless they see the MRI and know what they are looking at. Generally speaking a well conditioned athlete has more muscle fibers, so a larger strain may not have the same % of muscle fibers involved in the muscle compared to your average Joe. Because there was a audible pop, we are probably looking at at least a grade 2 I would have to only assume. The progression of rehab will be to control swelling, monitor tenderness and strength levels, observe the gait progressing from walking to running again, gain good strength compared to the other leg then when he is about 90% or so, start testing his deceleration to a stop with cutting since the hamstring is the body's decelerator. If pushed to hard to come back the injury can linger because this muscle certainly will not be as strong as it was previously. I think the key is to know when he starts jogging on the sideline or how much strength he lost or when he starts strengthening up the muscle once again to get a better indication of the time he may miss. If he starts to cut and is hesitant, he is just not ready to be back out on the field.

Great posting ATC. My backround is that of a sports physical therapist, having been fortunate enough to work extensively with collegiate and professional athletes; your analysis was right on.I will add that in my experience, if the injury was severe enough for it to be audible, he may be lucky to even start jogging in 3 weeks (especially considering his style of play). The first problem is that we have no idea how severe the injury really is. As ATC stated, tears of the tendon take significantly longer to heal due to a relatively "poor" blood supply compared to the highly vascular muscle tissue. Second, I have seen too many hamstring injuries be looked upon as being "minor," only to have the athlete suffer a second and more severe injury. When I lecture, I drive home the point that there is nothing minor about a hamstring injury; not only can it be a season ending injury, but career threatening. The prognosis for his injury will greatly depend on how it is managed by the training / rehabilitative staff.With the very limited and vague information we have, I would estimate that he won't be back in 3 weeks, and it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility that we see the same "tentativeness" that he displayed after his MCL last year.

 

[treat88]

A hamstring "strain" is actually a tear in the muscle tissue. What we usually refer to as a torn hamstring is really when the tendon attaching the muscle to the bone is no longer attached. From personal experience, I can vouch that a strained hamstring will make a pop and will hurt a lot and can take quite a while to fully recover. Strains are graded 1-3, with 3 being the most severe. When I injured mine, I couldn't run full speed for months. But then again, young Mr. Moreno is in better shape than was this 40-something weekend warrior playing the annual Thanksgiving football game with family. Here's hoping he has a mild strain.

I am an athletic trainer, but only knowing what can be expected in a basic hamstring rehab protocol is totally different since every person's rehab is different in one form or another. Even the slightest pull is a tear in the muscle. When we see tear we think of a rupture. Tears in the muscle belly of the hamstring do heal faster than tears in the tendon because of the mass number of fibers in the muscle of an athlete compared to the tendon. The blood flow in the area, the number of fibers involved and swelling control are other factors involved in the estimated time of recovery. These are all things the media can not know unless they see the MRI and know what they are looking at. Generally speaking a well conditioned athlete has more muscle fibers, so a larger strain may not have the same % of muscle fibers involved in the muscle compared to your average Joe. Because there was a audible pop, we are probably looking at at least a grade 2 I would have to only assume. The progression of rehab will be to control swelling, monitor tenderness and strength levels, observe the gait progressing from walking to running again, gain good strength compared to the other leg then when he is about 90% or so, start testing his deceleration to a stop with cutting since the hamstring is the body's decelerator. If pushed to hard to come back the injury can linger because this muscle certainly will not be as strong as it was previously. I think the key is to know when he starts jogging on the sideline or how much strength he lost or when he starts strengthening up the muscle once again to get a better indication of the time he may miss. If he starts to cut and is hesitant, he is just not ready to be back out on the field.

Great posting ATC. My backround is that of a sports physical therapist, having been fortunate enough to work extensively with collegiate and professional athletes; your analysis was right on.I will add that in my experience, if the injury was severe enough for it to be audible, he may be lucky to even start jogging in 3 weeks (especially considering his style of play). The first problem is that we have no idea how severe the injury really is. As ATC stated, tears of the tendon take significantly longer to heal due to a relatively "poor" blood supply compared to the highly vascular muscle tissue. Second, I have seen too many hamstring injuries be looked upon as being "minor," only to have the athlete suffer a second and more severe injury. When I lecture, I drive home the point that there is nothing minor about a hamstring injury; not only can it be a season ending injury, but career threatening. The prognosis for his injury will greatly depend on how it is managed by the training / rehabilitative staff.With the very limited and vague information we have, I would estimate that he won't be back in 3 weeks, and it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility that we see the same "tentativeness" that he displayed after his MCL last year.

to follow up the From another, as previously mentioned, orthopedic PT this is spot on.Basically picture a piece of rope that has been partially severed, or as they described it "frayed". Every time the knee is extended (straightened) that rope is pulled taut.First the individual fibers need to heal together, then they need to strengthen to be able to withstand the force of being pulled taut over and over and under increasing forces.Highly susceptible to reinjury and reaggravation.We have no clue where or how severe the fraying is, but text books will say 6-8 weeks is basic physiologic healing time followed by whatever time it takes to work through the strengthening process.Moreno is a pro athlete with the best possible care so I'd expect that number to be cut in approximately half depending on how he responds. So, 3-4 weeks before he returns to any kind of football activites f/b another 3-4 weeks of getting up to speed.

 

[Sopranos25]

Im not a big believer, but he will be fine and he has very little competition for the job.. He is the long term or for this season RB

 

[baconisgood]

RB KOLBY SMITH: With Buckhalter and Moreno sidelined and expected to return within the coming weeks, the focus turns to the battle for the No. 3 running back slot, with Smith, Lance Ball, Bruce Hall and Toney Baker all set to receive repetitions. Sunday, the first-team work belonged to Smith, who distinguished himself with some power, bouncing off defenders and rarely going down. One play in particular showed Smith’s skill set: a run to the left side where Nate Jones met him square but couldn’t knock him to the ground.

Its early, but worth noting.

Ill drop it in the other thread also.

Kolby Smith was looking like an acceptable RB as a rookie filling in for LJ- and the fact that his is still in the league 3 years later (unlike a Kenton Keith) speaks well for him to. If I was picking someone up on the Broncos it would be him.

 

[ThePhillyPhanatic]

Hey, this is my first post. From what I've read over the past week or two, I've found this to be a fantastic site, specifically the forums. Everyone appears to know their stuff inside and out. I can't say I'm anywhere near as knowledgeable as many of you but I'd love to contribute. Hopefully this is the right place to post this...

Is there any reason to be high on Knowshon Moreno right now? I thought he'd be undervalued going into the season and considering his draft position, before his injury, you could argue that he was but, at this point, with the disaster that the Broncos are right now, I can't possibly imagine him breaking out or having anything more than another 900 yard season. I heard reports about how he looked explosive in camp and so went along with the belief that he has a decent chance to crack the top ten running backs by the end of the year. But I realize he may now be in potentially one of the worst offenses in the league and he's no Steven Jackson. I think there's even reason to believe he may do worst than last year. If injuries held him back this year, why won't a hamstring injury this year? I own him in my main league due to our early draft and I'm seriously pondering dealing him away for anything valuable I can get in return. Thoughts on Moreno?

 

[fatness]

RB KOLBY SMITH: With Buckhalter and Moreno sidelined and expected to return within the coming weeks, the focus turns to the battle for the No. 3 running back slot, with Smith, Lance Ball, Bruce Hall and Toney Baker all set to receive repetitions. Sunday, the first-team work belonged to Smith, who distinguished himself with some power, bouncing off defenders and rarely going down. One play in particular showed Smith’s skill set: a run to the left side where Nate Jones met him square but couldn’t knock him to the ground.

Its early, but worth noting.

Ill drop it in the other thread also.

Kolby Smith was looking like an acceptable RB as a rookie filling in for LJ- and the fact that his is still in the league 3 years later (unlike a Kenton Keith) speaks well for him to. If I was picking someone up on the Broncos it would be him.

Kolby Smith was released: Link

 

[cvnpoka]

Great posting ATC. My backround is that of a sports physical therapist, having been fortunate enough to work extensively with collegiate and professional athletes; your analysis was right on.

I will add that in my experience, if the injury was severe enough for it to be audible, he may be lucky to even start jogging in 3 weeks (especially considering his style of play). The first problem is that we have no idea how severe the injury really is. As ATC stated, tears of the tendon take significantly longer to heal due to a relatively "poor" blood supply compared to the highly vascular muscle tissue. Second, I have seen too many hamstring injuries be looked upon as being "minor," only to have the athlete suffer a second and more severe injury. When I lecture, I drive home the point that there is nothing minor about a hamstring injury; not only can it be a season ending injury, but career threatening. The prognosis for his injury will greatly depend on how it is managed by the training / rehabilitative staff.

With the very limited and vague information we have, I would estimate that he won't be back in 3 weeks, and it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility that we see the same "tentativeness" that he displayed after his MCL last year.

proly not 3 weeks. but ready or not, i would guess he is playing the first game and in some of the preseason games. thats how the nfl goes. its dumb. its inefficient and wasteful but for some reason the coaching staffs feels that forcing a player to play that isnt ready is some sort of necessity. most recent example is antonio bryant. he tears his meniscus and they force him to play in 4 weeks. how does that benefit the team? you get a broken down player that never is 100% for a full season.

 

[sportsphysio]

Great posting ATC. My backround is that of a sports physical therapist, having been fortunate enough to work extensively with collegiate and professional athletes; your analysis was right on.

I will add that in my experience, if the injury was severe enough for it to be audible, he may be lucky to even start jogging in 3 weeks (especially considering his style of play). The first problem is that we have no idea how severe the injury really is. As ATC stated, tears of the tendon take significantly longer to heal due to a relatively "poor" blood supply compared to the highly vascular muscle tissue. Second, I have seen too many hamstring injuries be looked upon as being "minor," only to have the athlete suffer a second and more severe injury. When I lecture, I drive home the point that there is nothing minor about a hamstring injury; not only can it be a season ending injury, but career threatening. The prognosis for his injury will greatly depend on how it is managed by the training / rehabilitative staff.

With the very limited and vague information we have, I would estimate that he won't be back in 3 weeks, and it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility that we see the same "tentativeness" that he displayed after his MCL last year.

proly not 3 weeks. but ready or not, i would guess he is playing the first game and in some of the preseason games. thats how the nfl goes. its dumb. its inefficient and wasteful but for some reason the coaching staffs feels that forcing a player to play that isnt ready is some sort of necessity. most recent example is antonio bryant. he tears his meniscus and they force him to play in 4 weeks. how does that benefit the team? you get a broken down player that never is 100% for a full season.

Exactly, and unfortunately this happens at all levels of athletics, all the way down to youth. This is also why he probably will not regain his form until well into the season.