Denard's Elbow: Bandaged
So here's a still from Friday's walkthrough video:
Watch the thing in full if you need to assure yourself that this is not a hallucination and is actually a bandage on his elbow.
What is it? Denard had a procedure earlier this week for an abscess on said elbow. The bandage is the after-effect. An abscess is an irritating, fairly quick-healing thing that may have affected his accuracy earlier in the year. It won't cause him to miss any time but may be a reason the passing game has been minimized so far. If he suddenly gets a lot more accurate in three weeks that might be why.
October 1st, 2011 at 12:57 AM ^
abscesses are gross. and painful. yay for possible improvement now that they drained it?
October 1st, 2011 at 2:13 AM ^
This is likely a MRSA abscess. Pretty common... acquired during game play from artifical turf. Treatment is drainage and abx. This did not inhibit his preformance. Not a big deal. I feel bad for Denard b/c this won't be his last.
(I'm medically qualified to know this. I've been a reader of this site since near inception and cringe at the medical misinterpretation of commentors on this site.)
Go Blue!
October 1st, 2011 at 2:33 AM ^
for 4 weeks when I was 18 and it hurt like all hell, got pretty scary, and took about 2 weeks to go back to almost normal size.
I can say for me it hurt like hell any time I moved my elbow. If it was even remotely close to as bad as I had it I'm sure his elbow hurt when he was throwing.
Also, a doctor is not qualified to say if a certain amount of pain will inhibit someone's performance, only the person perfoming knows if the pain is affecting him.
October 1st, 2011 at 3:18 AM ^
Thats a whole different animal... much more painful than a Staph infection. Imagine the pain of having a gigantic zit in your elbow and that's what Denard was experiencing. It almost certainly limits mobility which can explain lack of accuracy... However, bursitis is MUCH more painful than a Staph infection
October 1st, 2011 at 7:29 AM ^
October 1st, 2011 at 7:24 AM ^
You jump to MRSA very quickly. Do you have access to the c & s data? You also imply knowing when this began. Obviously he did not have it for three weeks, but he could have had it last Saturday. Unless you have insider info?
October 1st, 2011 at 8:28 AM ^
In his defense of MRSA, it is very likely we are all colonized with it and I wouldn't be surprised if it were, indeed MRSA.
HOWEVER
I won't call him a pompous asshole yet, BUT.
MRSA comes from the equipment they wear on a daily basis, gets soaked with sweat, dries incompletely, then continues to rub on the skin during games. It does NOT come from the turf.
Also, an abcess in a joint doesn't hurt, or even one on a joint? WTF? I've see enough abcess in and on joints from years of taking care of them on the floor and in the OR that I would have to disagree with the idea they are a painless nuisance. I have a friend who was a boxer and has a pretty good pain tolerance. His knee abcess was not something he was able to work through. I would imagine the same would apply for a quarterback.
October 1st, 2011 at 9:17 AM ^
I'm not saying it isn't MRSA, but that isn't a clinical diagnosis - it is one made from culture and sensitivity testing. Although MRSA gets a lot of press, most infections are still MSSA and most treatment is started empirically before any of the culture data returns. Draining the abscess is the most important thing anyway.
I will echo your comment that the abscess and likely associated cellulitis can hurt a good deal and would limit range of motion on the elbow. But, without insider knowledge, we don't know how long this has been going on. The reason I thought the original comment was "curious" was because the detail given implies having that insider knowledge.
The good news is that it's on the mend.
October 1st, 2011 at 11:05 AM ^
And I also understand about empirical treatment. (I may not be very good at which atb to prescribe for which organisms, because prescribing atb is outside my scope of practice. I can't "prescribe" anything in Ohio. I can just push it myself.) And yes, treatment is typically started before any intervention is performed. Not always. Sometimes I don't start the atb until cultures are taken. Sometimes they are on atb before they get into the OR.
As for my comment on the possibility of it being MRSA, I believe MRSA is very common. More common than probably most people realize. I just don't think most people really know there's a difference between colonization and infection. Like I said, I think probably most people are colonized. Just not carrying active infections.
October 1st, 2011 at 8:16 AM ^
What type of medical personnel are you?
October 1st, 2011 at 5:46 PM ^
I am just amused that this convo is even taking place. Let's leave the diagnosis to Denard's PCP.
October 1st, 2011 at 1:01 AM ^
That would explain a lot. Watching him throw a few of the balls that floats high, he definitely lacked his "zip". He looke rocky untrained eye Robbie be following through on his throwing motion - ie not fully extending his elbow.
<br>
<br>Could this be the reason he has looked mortal in the passing game? Hopefully we are up by 3 scores at the half so that Denard can rest the elbow in the second half.
October 1st, 2011 at 2:11 AM ^
He looke rocky untrained eye Robbie be following through on his throwing motion
Pardon?
October 1st, 2011 at 9:03 AM ^
Auto correct or West Indian?
October 1st, 2011 at 9:30 AM ^
I be like damn.
October 1st, 2011 at 1:02 AM ^
Ive noticed that bleeding every game when the camera pans in on him.. always bloody.
October 1st, 2011 at 1:06 AM ^
So no cause for major freakout? Cautious/delusional optimism?
October 1st, 2011 at 1:08 AM ^
We're all gonna die!
/s
October 1st, 2011 at 6:22 AM ^
We're all going to have glorious lives!
October 1st, 2011 at 9:47 AM ^
"We're all gonna die!
I think you're on to something....maybe Mathlete can analyze mortality rates.
October 1st, 2011 at 1:08 AM ^
His abscess was not full of pus, but dilithium.
October 1st, 2011 at 1:09 AM ^
Seeing a picture of Denard up and quickly seeing the word "bandage" scared the piss out of me. Good thing it's nothing too serious. I hope this cures his inaccuracy problem, but if his accuracy does go up tomorrow, we have to take it with a grain of salt since it's Minnesota's secondary. The real game to see how it goes will be against Northwestern.
Still, I'm all in for healthy Denard.
October 1st, 2011 at 1:10 AM ^
I don't have any idea why I thought it would be a good idea to click on a link titled "abscess" while eating, but I'm certainly regretting that decision.
October 1st, 2011 at 11:28 AM ^
You could have been eating yogurt like I was.
October 1st, 2011 at 1:10 AM ^
but an optimistic post! Given Minnesota's secondary, I'm not sure if a good game tomorrow through the air tells us anything about the abscess's effect on his throwing...
October 1st, 2011 at 1:16 AM ^
Looks OK @ 2:43 remaining 1st half of the SDSU game??...this looks minor...
October 1st, 2011 at 1:23 AM ^
If that bump beneath his elbow joint is it, that's plenty big enough to hurt like hell. It seems to me that if it wasn't bad enough to keep him from playing altogether, it probably didn't affect him too much. But if it was a bad one, he could have really been in pain out there.
I had one near my tailbone (TMI?) and it was nearly debilitating.
October 1st, 2011 at 2:42 AM ^
Brady is taking snaps at the 1:10 mark of the walkthrough...does he have eligibility??.../s
Srsly...he's not favoring it in any video that I see...this looks minor...if it's enough to impede his throwing motion then why would they have him make the throws he made in the SDSU game??. It's possible...I just don't think it accounts for pass failure as bad as it has been.
Here's a couple more shots post victory formation...in the second one he's hugging an SDSU player... 
There is a boil on his elbow @ 33:49 on this vid...but again it looks like a bad blister. I don't think that was there at the beginning of the game...
It will take a day or two for a culture to come back anyhow...I'm sure he wears something to protect this and other players on the field tomorrow as a precaution. I think CFB in general is very careful about potential MRSA outbreaks given recent history.October 1st, 2011 at 8:10 AM ^
Is your last name Zapruder. By chance?
October 1st, 2011 at 1:19 AM ^
This is why on random Fridays I like to booze and keep F5 a viable option on MgoBlog.
October 1st, 2011 at 1:23 AM ^
Also get better soon Denard.
October 1st, 2011 at 1:25 AM ^
October 1st, 2011 at 1:32 AM ^
Lucky for us Denard could put up 300 yards against Minnie with two abcessed testicles and a full body cast. No hyperbole
October 1st, 2011 at 1:42 AM ^
You know, those aren't as bad as you think they would be. They're 100 times worse.
October 1st, 2011 at 1:42 AM ^
...but terrifying imagery. I just cringed.
October 1st, 2011 at 1:40 AM ^
God, please don't post Denard ......... Bandaged
October 1st, 2011 at 1:48 AM ^
just woke up in a state of dream induced panic.
1st conscious act: check MGoDroid
step two: AHHH. panic higher than dream induced panic. impossible but it happen.
step four: oh its probably set to the boards and some guy has a stupid theory thing and Brian never posts late.
step five: ahhhhhhh
six: okay. Denard bandage equals good news okay.
three: accnowledge stupididy and spelling errors of stream of conscious post.feel a coming MGoWraith.
seven: sleep. oh crap why is game time ten hours away not four like in my diabolical plan to avoid conscious impatience.
serious note though: would a absess have made getting hit hurt or just throwing? i dont know can someone assist?
October 1st, 2011 at 1:58 AM ^
It all really depends. An abcess can be painful, or it can be not painful. It can be painful during certain situations or movements. Really depends on how big, where, what caused it, etc. I don't think this will solve the throwing issues, but it sure can't hurt the accuracy. Hopefully it will actually help.
October 1st, 2011 at 6:29 AM ^
I realize you might have been a little sleepy, but for future reference it goes:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 in that order.
October 1st, 2011 at 8:16 AM ^
Cottonpicker is leading the Pick Six standings this week. Whatever order he decides the numbers go should be followed by the rest of us.
1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3, 7 it is. We'll have to get his decision on whether seven still ate nine.
October 1st, 2011 at 9:50 AM ^
Thanks for the info. I had no idea Cottonpicker was of such a superior intellect. If he wants to reorder numbers, I'm on board and I'm anxiously awaiting the 789 verdict. Perhaps we should immediately name him sumpreme ruler of the universe? As an aside, with Cottonpicker in charge, it would bring an entirely different meaning to "that cottonpicking leader!" I just hope he shows me mercy.
October 2nd, 2011 at 8:05 AM ^
16 8 Gopher.
October 1st, 2011 at 9:13 AM ^
Dude, reading comprehension. He knows.
October 1st, 2011 at 9:39 AM ^
Dude, it was meant to be funny. I knew he knew.
October 1st, 2011 at 1:50 AM ^
i hope teams still load the box and make him throw. that way denard can be like..."#HALOL I MIGHT NOT TIE MY LACES BUT I KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THE ONES ON THE BALL!" (pass zips to roundtree in the endzone)
October 1st, 2011 at 2:16 AM ^
It is very unlikely that an abscess would affect his play on the field at all, pre or post operation. It's just uncomfortable is all.
October 1st, 2011 at 8:01 AM ^
Yeah, how could being uncomfortable affect him?
October 1st, 2011 at 2:18 AM ^
Wish Denard well, as it probably affected his passing accuracy, but I don't think this is the reason his receivers have been dropping passes, or why he has been throwing to people in double coverage. Hope all is well with Denard and he gets it together in the passing game.
October 1st, 2011 at 4:21 AM ^
and I was like......
Then I was like.....
Don't worry, elbows heal fast man! :)
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