Tough Recovery for Patella Injuries (re: Victor Cruz)

It is encouraging that Dr. Chao did NOT say that there are complications to recovering from a patella tear or limitations. He seemed to focus on the amount of time it takes to recover, not if you will recover. But, there are a small sample of these injuries so who really knows.

Seriously though - interesting that Claiborne of the Cowboys has come back and he predicts for Jimmy Graham to come back as well. Good article for us non-medicals

he's had two years to recover.

the calf injury is kind of a blessing....it gave that knee more time to heal......if he is able to stay on the field this season, it will be worth it...

the calf may have been a blessing in disguise. Not to say Cruz wasn't missed last year he certainly was but there was a part of me that was convinced he'd have a rough come back in 2015 no matter what. The calf injury allowed Cruz to ample time to heal from the knee. At least now there weren't any brutal setbacks that could have wrecked his career or discouraged him from coming back at all.

In comment 13040962 Beer Man said:

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he's had two years to recover.

Many were saying that the calf injury could be have occurred as a result of the Patella injury not being 100% and it cause undo pressure on the legs. A balance kind of thing. I don't know.

Bottom line: we need Victor Cruz to be Victor Cruz of circa 2013 AT least. I'm still predicting 90-1100 type numbers from him but it is more wishful thinking / hope than knowing he can handle playing.

We will likely know a lot more come August 12 when we likely see him get some snaps vs Miami. I would also guess the Giants may limit him in camp unless he truly looks completely healed with no setbacks.

In comment 13040982 SGMen said:

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In comment 13040962 Beer Man said: Quote: he's had two years to recover. Many were saying that the calf injury could be have occurred as a result of the Patella injury not being 100% and it cause undo pressure on the legs. A balance kind of thing. I don't know. Bottom line: we need Victor Cruz to be Victor Cruz of circa 2013 AT least. I'm still predicting 90-1100 type numbers from him but it is more wishful thinking / hope than knowing he can handle playing. We will likely know a lot more come August 12 when we likely see him get some snaps vs Miami. I would also guess the Giants may limit him in camp unless he truly looks completely healed with no setbacks.

I think the time has come to stop limiting him and see what he has. If it is because of the knee that they are limiting him, no more amount of time in the next few weeks will make a difference. The calf has been resting for at least 8 months now. Time to open it up and see what hes got. If he cant get it done in Training Camp, there is no chance he can get it done when the real bullets start flying in just over a months time.

Straight forward as it gets. Nice fine Josh

I tore my Patella tendon in my left knee January 8, 2015.
My experience is that the recovery and the therapy necessary to recover from a ruptured patella tendon is painful and exhausting.
It is true that you cannot walk without the tendon and when I injured mine I tried to get up and collapsed.

However, what the DR. Chao does not tell you is that while the recovery is difficult and painful the prognosis is actually much better than other knee injuries.
The tendon is robust and has excellent blood flow so the tendon typically heals stronger than prior to the injury.
Also what Dr. Chao does not tell you is that when you need to repair an acl / lcl tear the most popular option to aid in healing is to remove a section of your patella tendon and to graft it to your ligament.

So after 1.5 years I have no restrictions or limitations due to the surgery. While I am not a professional athlete, I am back doing MMA and I was recuperating with (2) college football players that have returned to division football.

In comment 13040997 gmen9892 said:

Quote:

In comment 13040982 SGMen said: Quote: In comment 13040962 Beer Man said: Quote: he's had two years to recover. Many were saying that the calf injury could be have occurred as a result of the Patella injury not being 100% and it cause undo pressure on the legs. A balance kind of thing. I don't know. Bottom line: we need Victor Cruz to be Victor Cruz of circa 2013 AT least. I'm still predicting 90-1100 type numbers from him but it is more wishful thinking / hope than knowing he can handle playing. We will likely know a lot more come August 12 when we likely see him get some snaps vs Miami. I would also guess the Giants may limit him in camp unless he truly looks completely healed with no setbacks. I think the time has come to stop limiting him and see what he has. If it is because of the knee that they are limiting him, no more amount of time in the next few weeks will make a difference. The calf has been resting for at least 8 months now. Time to open it up and see what hes got. If he cant get it done in Training Camp, there is no chance he can get it done when the real bullets start flying in just over a months time.

I hope he plays as many snaps in camp as any totally healthy wideout would. He hasn't played since October 2014 so seeing what he has through all of camp is huge. He is only 30, and just turned 30 I believe, so he is still young enough to come back.

I close my eyes and see McAdoo going deep to him on August 12 to see what he has with pads. I see McAdoo throwing to him with tough cut and plant slants. We need to know what we have with him and quick.

I have a good feeling the hardworking Cruz does produce and finally stays healthy. I also have a good feeling both rookie WR Sheppard and 2nd year wideout G. Davis produce in their roles. We have a young corps outside of V. Cruz.

Go Cruz! Go Cruz!! Go Cruz!!!

He says two years to recover. Not that you're guaranteed to recover but it takes two years if your going to recover. Cruz has had the two years so we will see.

In comment 13041028 BillT said:

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He says two years to recover. Not that you're guaranteed to recover but it takes two years if your going to recover. Cruz has had the two years so we will see.

Yeah, that is what the literature says. Now we have to hope Cruz has in fact FULLY recovered.

I just know this offense will by top 5 for sure with a healthy, effective Cruz. All we can do is hope and wait for the games to be played.

In sports often leads to guys coming back too soon. Seems to be the case with Cruz

I don't expect much from Cruz. Nothing against him; it's just unreasonable to expect a guy to miss basically two years of football and come back and be right. Cruz is also a smart guy. I imagine he's spent much of his time away from the game planning his life after it. His head and heart might not be completely in it, and who could blame him.

Go Terps said:

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I don't expect much from Cruz. Nothing against him; it's just unreasonable to expect a guy to miss basically two years of football and come back and be right.

Yeah, I know... different position.

a star again. But, unfortunately, it's hard to have confidence that it will happen based on the severity and the long recovery time now. Even though Domenik Hixon had a different injury - his demise reminds me very much of what's happened to Cruz.

I really want to be optimistic but I've been minding and tempering my expectations

In comment 13041089 Go Terps said:

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I don't expect much from Cruz. Nothing against him; it's just unreasonable to expect a guy to miss basically two years of football and come back and be right. Cruz is also a smart guy. I imagine he's spent much of his time away from the game planning his life after it. His head and heart might not be completely in it, and who could blame him.

I am viewing it the same way. I hope I am wrong and pleasantly surprised, but I am not expecting much at all.

In comment 13041106 Rick5 said:

Quote:

In comment 13041089 Go Terps said: Quote: I don't expect much from Cruz. Nothing against him; it's just unreasonable to expect a guy to miss basically two years of football and come back and be right. Cruz is also a smart guy. I imagine he's spent much of his time away from the game planning his life after it. His head and heart might not be completely in it, and who could blame him. I am viewing it the same way. I hope I am wrong and pleasantly surprised, but I am not expecting much at all.

I too don't "expect" he'll be the same but I certainly "hope & wish" he bounces back. See, as a fan, if he does bounce back and become a solid contributor this is a totally different offense with options.

I mean, imagine WR D. Harris is forced to be the #3 cause Cruz just doesn't cut the mustard. Harris is a decent wideout in spot play but he is no #3 that you have to worry about. A healthy Cruz converts 3rd downs and can occassionally god deep. We need him but to expect or plan on him coming back big after 2 years is indeed asking a lot.

In comment 13040973 Doomster said:

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the calf injury is kind of a blessing....it gave that knee more time to heal......if he is able to stay on the field this season, it will be worth it...

Doomster. This is very a very non-doom post. I like it!

it's a long shot that he'll survive the season, let alone be what he used to be.

I think a savage hit he took from Pitts (??) had him hearing feet and dropping wide open catches.

I don't think any top player has ever missed two years and returned to form.

Doesn't mean he can't or won't, I just see it as "unlikely".
And I think the view on Harris is limited. He might be too valuable on specials to play WR but last year was really his first year. We've all seen what he can do with the football in his hand and just a crack of daylinght, I think that might still translate into YAC and something speial - aside from specials of course.

In comment 13041016 Archer said:

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I tore my Patella tendon in my left knee January 8, 2015. My experience is that the recovery and the therapy necessary to recover from a ruptured patella tendon is painful and exhausting. It is true that you cannot walk without the tendon and when I injured mine I tried to get up and collapsed. However, what the DR. Chao does not tell you is that while the recovery is difficult and painful the prognosis is actually much better than other knee injuries. The tendon is robust and has excellent blood flow so the tendon typically heals stronger than prior to the injury. Also what Dr. Chao does not tell you is that when you need to repair an acl / lcl tear the most popular option to aid in healing is to remove a section of your patella tendon and to graft it to your ligament. So after 1.5 years I have no restrictions or limitations due to the surgery. While I am not a professional athlete, I am back doing MMA and I was recuperating with (2) college football players that have returned to division football.

Archer, it sounds like yours was a partial tear, is that correct? Mine was a total rupture, had to use a cadaver tendon to put it back together. That's also waht happened to Cruz, I believe.

In comment 13041089 Go Terps said:

Quote:

I don't expect much from Cruz. Nothing against him; it's just unreasonable to expect a guy to miss basically two years of football and come back and be right. Cruz is also a smart guy. I imagine he's spent much of his time away from the game planning his life after it. His head and heart might not be completely in it, and who could blame him.

I don't expect much from Cruz, either, but I also think that the Giant offense will be just fine without him.

my brother in laws is a pretty well known knee surgery in brazil and I asked him about Cruz injury a little while ago here is what he told me

the Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo had the EXACT same injury as Cruz

in 1999 Ronaldo had the knee injury and then the next year 7 minutes into his comeback he reinjured the same knee!!
He missed 2 years recovering from injury but then...

Ronaldo came back for the 2002 World Cup, helping Brazil win their fifth World Cup title. Later in 2002, he won the FIFA World Player of the Year award for the third time,
and ended up being effective player until 2008.

so there is hope for Cruz.

In comment 13042220 giantfan2000 said:

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my brother in laws is a pretty well known knee surgery in brazil and I asked him about Cruz injury a little while ago here is what he told me the Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo had the EXACT same injury as Cruz in 1999 Ronaldo had the knee injury and then the next year 7 minutes into his comeback he reinjured the same knee!! He missed 2 years recovering from injury but then... Ronaldo came back for the 2002 World Cup, helping Brazil win their fifth World Cup title. Later in 2002, he won the FIFA World Player of the Year award for the third time, and ended up being effective player until 2008. so there is hope for Cruz.

Good post and example of a comeback outside of football. Soccer is tough, you have to cut, plant and explode just like football.

I know from the interviews and clips that Cruz has worked very hard to make it back. He is only 30 years old. I have to hold out hope that he bounces back this year and produces. I doubt we'll ever see a repeat of 2011 type numbers but I'd take 2013 type numbers given his injury.

And folks, lets face it, if Cruz does in fact bounce back all the way to become an 80-1000-7 type guy again this offense become very very hard to stop. That is my hope and prayer.