Med Guys: can Tate injure his shoulder worse by playing too early?

Submitted by StephenRKass on

My only concern about Tate is that he not further damage his shoulder by playing too early. There are some injuries where you play through some pain, and others where you make the situation much worse. Any orthopods out there who can explain this? And has there been a definitive diagnosis on what happened?

EDIT: READING FAIL . . . Brian discussed this yesterday. Apparently the only question is how much pain Tate can play through, and there is little chance of further injury.

willywill9

September 28th, 2009 at 10:14 AM ^

True, but that's assuming we know what his condition is. The title of the article is "Forcier's shoulder: probably more than bruised."

Not to shoot down the report, I'm just saying it all remains to be seen/reported. My guess is, he'll be able to play on Saturday, and I really don't think Rich Rodriguez would put Tate (and the season) in a bad position for one game.

willywill9

September 28th, 2009 at 11:17 AM ^

I'm not shooting down any report. I'm simply stating that nothing is certain. Any guess by any one on this forum is a guess. Where is the "random" prognosis? I have no idea what exactly is wrong with his shoulder. Going off of this report, which seems to be credible, I think he'll play. Sorry if that offends you.

And really, there's no need to be so snide with your "Reading Fail" post to the OP. So someone posted on a topic and hadn't read the part that suggests one can play through the injury with little risk. Look at Magnus' post below. You can run the risk of making the injury worse.

Magnus

September 28th, 2009 at 10:12 AM ^

If this is indeed an AC dislocation, I've had this injury before. As others have said, the biggest thing is tolerating the pain. If he can withstand the pain and still play well, then good for him.

But he CAN hurt it more by playing with it. If he falls on the shoulder again like he did on Saturday, then it could get worse.

death_roh

September 28th, 2009 at 10:13 AM ^

shouldn't we at least start d-rob and see if he can get us going early. If he does well it would just be a bonus as tate could get some needed rest. If he flops just put tate in

gater

September 28th, 2009 at 10:17 AM ^

During the radio broadcast when Tate initially hurt his shoulder, Brandstatter said that Tate is tough and would come back in unless his right arm was severed to which the sideline reporter goes "I can confirm that his arm is not severed". So as long as that bad boy's still attached I'm sure he'll be fine.

MGOSAIL

September 28th, 2009 at 10:18 AM ^

he can only make it worse by hitting his shoulder again, not by using it. I had a more severe AC seperation, spent a week in a sling then 4 weeks of high pain. Injections can really help. However, if he hits it again he can make it worse, about 8 months after my AC separation I also tore my rotater cuff without much force. I think that barwis and richrod will make sure he strengthens his shoulder, which will help to protect it from further injury (and maybe increase his arm strength)

tpilews

September 28th, 2009 at 10:22 AM ^

The shoulder is something you don't want to mess around with. I was a pitcher in hs and college and had to have surgery just after high school from years and years of throwing. Surgery equals 5 weeks in a slings and 6-9 months of rehab. And, if you can come back just as good as you were before the injury, you're lucky. I was never able to pitch like I did in HS and ended up changing positions. Let's hope Tate takes care of that arm and doesn't come back too early.

foreverbluemaize

September 28th, 2009 at 10:27 AM ^

I fell off of a horse one time while the horse was in a full on run. Landed shoulder first and suffered a pretty nasty separation. I was a mechaninc at the time and was tuning wrenches with that arm 2 or 3 days later. Shoulder still gives me problems from time to time but nothing I can't live with. I hope the kid is OK.

samsoccer7

September 28th, 2009 at 11:19 AM ^

For all of you thinking a pain shot to the shoulder will suffice come game-day.... That's what they did to Henne's arm against Illinois a couple years ago and they got part of his nerve. He was basically throwing the football without sensation in at least part of his arm from the shoulder to the fingertips. No wonder he threw a ball meant for Tacopants, and then was pulled immediately.

Lets hope Tate doesn't need any pain meds b/c he'll lose that "touch" that we've grown to love. No homo.

Dix

September 28th, 2009 at 12:46 PM ^

My understanding is that as long as he can tolerate the pain of throwing, that he can do so without risking further injury to the shoulder.

However, I am not worried about him causing further damage to his shoulder by using it to throw. I'm worried about him stepping out on the field with a weakened shoulder, then getting drilled by a linebacker and injuring it further.

It's one thing to be able to use the arm without aggravating the injury, but if it's more susceptible to further injury if he takes a hit, I'd rest him as much as possible.