Can Arthroscopic Surgery Extend Your Sporting Career?

Yesterday, Hall of Fame-bound basketball player Ray Allen underwent surgery on his right ankle in hopes of extending his basketball career. There is a lot of basketball left in these legs, the 36 year old point guard for the Boston Celtics said prior to the surgery. The wear and tear of all his years in the NBA has taken its toll on the most prolific three-point shooter in the history of the NBA.

Ray Allen shot 45.3% from three point range, ranking him 4th in the NBA this season. But, the 36 year old had to miss 20 of the last regular seasons games because of bone spurs he developed in his ankle joint. He was able to play in the playoffs on sheer guts, but if you watched him play you could see he was hobbled. In a game with constant running, jumping, and slashing, he was in considerable pain and all conservative treatments did not help.

Ray had developed numerous bones spurs in his ankle joint from all the pounding it took on the court. Arthroscopic surgery was performed and was successful. This procedure is not exclusively for pro-athletes but also for everyday people like you and me.

The procedure entails making two small incisions on both sides of the ankle and injecting sterile water into the ankle joint. An instrument with a tiny camera is inserted into one of the incisions in the joint and another instrument is inserted in the second incision to remove the bone spurs while the surgeon watches it on a screen similar to a TV screen. This procedure isnt used for bone spurs alone. It can be used to remove arthritic changes, repair torn ligaments, and clean out the joint itself from synovitis, which is a severe inflammation of tissue within the joint. Arthroscopy can also be used to remove osteochondral lesions, which are small tears of the cartilage in the joint. Depending upon the severity of the joint condition, the procedure can take 20 minutes to an hour to perform. The Podiatric Surgeon will either recommend that some patients be non-weight bearing after the procedure or some patients can walk the same day with healing usually very quick.

If you have ankle joint pain that doesnt respond after rest, you should give Dr. Bowman a call. He will evaluate the joint and the range of motion. An X-ray will be taken and sometimes an MRI is needed.

Contact Dr. Bowman of Houston Foot Specialists by calling 713-467-8886 or by www.houstonfootspecialists.com for all your foot and ankle needs.

Category: Surgery

Tags: ankle pain, Ankle Problems, Ankle Surgery, Arthoscopic Surgery, Bone Spurs, foot pain, Foot Surgery, NBA, Sports Injuries