Speculation: Darren Helm

[Cursed Lemon]

Helm is my favorite player and this is KILLING me.

 

[irishock]

What does that have to do with healing from a back injury?

Because Helm's biggest upside is his speed and his bodychecking ability. Neither Z or Thornton depend on that to be the players that they are.

 

[Goalie guy]

I don't mean to be a downer but he is done! how many specialist's have seen him and said there is nothing wrong nerve, or muscular, bone wise with his back? may be it is in his head? I don't think he come's back at all sad another young wing gone.

 

[jroc86]

Helm apparently has some degree of a ligament tear ... For the collagen matrix to completely heal the proliferation/maturation phase can take up to 2 years. Especially if he retore the scar tissue that had been bridging the gap of the wound getting some prolotherapy directly to the affected ligament might be the only way the ligament gets strong enough to avoid te-injury. Being in a physio masters program naturally id really like to get a look at his chart and see what/were the actual diagnosis is....

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

Helm apparently has some degree of a ligament tear ... For the collagen matrix to completely heal the proliferation/maturation phase can take up to 2 years. Especially if he retore the scar tissue that had been bridging the gap of the wound getting some prolotherapy directly to the affected ligament might be the only way the ligament gets strong enough to avoid te-injury. Being in a physio masters program naturally id really like to get a look at his chart and see what/were the actual diagnosis is....

 

[tfong]

I wish we had Helm back.

 

[crashman]

Some of you need to cool it with the grim speculation. We have no idea what Helm's health situation is. He could be 100% by next training camp, just have to wait and see.

 

[Crymson]

I don't mean to be a downer but he is done!

You don't mean to be a downer? Just about everything you say contains a prediction of catastrophe.

Fortunately, you almost certainly don't know a ****ing thing about medicine.

 

[Soft Rock Renegade]

Helm apparently has some degree of a ligament tear ... For the collagen matrix to completely heal the proliferation/maturation phase can take up to 2 years. Especially if he retore the scar tissue that had been bridging the gap of the wound getting some prolotherapy directly to the affected ligament might be the only way the ligament gets strong enough to avoid te-injury. Being in a physio masters program naturally id really like to get a look at his chart and see what/were the actual diagnosis is....

where did you read that the injury was ligamentous?

 

[jroc86]

where did you read that the injury was ligamentous?

Wayy back mnths ago when the first reports came out ruling out a bony or disc injury it was mentioned a few times that he had sprained a ligament. I beleive it was Holland who said it

 

[JPE123]

Sounds like he has what's referred to as a soft tissue injury. These are always difficult to diagnose and difficult to treat. If it was a disc issue I suspect they would already have operated. Wish him the best and hope to see him in October.

 

[InjuredChoker]

Would that of even been possible. Wouldn't he have to pass a physical.

No if after team agrees to it. Like Derek Dorsett who was traded from Jackets to Rangers in Gaborik trade and he had broken collarbone and would be out for another month at the time.

 

[MissNHL]

He hasn't practiced with the team but he has been skating on his own. And apparently walking the concourse before games too.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

On Mlive there is an article about Miller possibly being ready in round two. They mention no change in Helms status and that he wasn't skating with the team.

The kid has great wheels and relentless forechecker and penalty killer. I hope they can find what the deal is ans fix it...even it requires surgery.

 

[Hendricks433]

On Mlive there is an article about Miller possibly being ready in round two. They mention no change in Helms status and that he wasn't skating with the team.

The kid has great wheels and relentless forechecker and penalty killer. I hope they can find what the deal is ans fix it...even it requires surgery.

Babcock ruled Helm out for the series but Helm did skate with the team today according to Twitter. IDK if it was definitely with the team or just skated before or after.

 

[Actual Thought*]

Mlive mentioned him being ruled out but then said he skated with the team and that he is traveling with the team to Chicago. I doubt he will play but it would be a game changer to add his speed into the series. This team is very different with Helm in the lineup.

 

[Pavels Dog]

I hope a couple of years from now this is all just a distant memory and we'll be saying "hey remember when Darren Helm had that back issue?? sure glad that didn't negatively impact his career".

Kid is as good as a bottom 6 player comes. And everytime we're on the PK his absence is felt. Nothing to do but hope he's 100% when training camp comes.

 

[Dats13DET]

I see all these people talking about how he won't be the same player after a back surgery and I don't think that'll be the case here. "He won't be the same anymore" can be said for pretty much any injury that isn't a broken finger or something stupid. Players come back from this, look at Jonathan Quick. He struggled out of the gate yes but he certainly looks up to form now. Somebody mentioned Z and he's still a beast from what I can see. Calm down, I don't think there's too much to worry about here. I sure do miss the guy though.

 

[minitrucker83]

I hope he makes a full recovery soon. He is easily my second favorite wing to watch behind Pav. I dont care if he cant finish, his energy is contagious in a team environment and just a joy to watch. I'm 29 and have what seems like will be chronic back problems, its not something you want to mess around with.

 

[newfy]

Yep hes arguably the best "energy" player in the league really and theres only a couple third line centers I would take over him.

I think at this point even if he could return he would be so out of shape and rusty that he wouldnt be helpful so the team has probably just shut him down and said wait for next year so it has plenty of time to heal.

 

[Bench]

Quick, somebody develop a stem cell treatment.

 

[Ricelund]

Remember this?

 

[Vladdy84]

Remember this?

Knock it off. Make it stop.

Come back soon Daaaaaaarrren.

 

[JPE123]

Remember this?

Stop it. We have a game tonite and #43 isn't going to be there! Great video of why this guy is so valuable. I'm hoping to see the old Helmer back in October. The single best move we can make for next year is a healthy Helm

 

[slapshots1515]

Back issues are tricky. Obviously at this point he doesn't have a disc issue or something easy to find. There are lots of small things with your spine though that can be VERY hard to diagnose. I have spinal stenosis, and it took around a year for them to finally find it because it's so subtle. "Taking the shot/pill and getting out there" doesn't work at first, and the surgery has a two year recovery period (it's the same fusion surgery Peyton Manning went through in football last year). Took me several months to learn how to manage it properly. Meanwhile my brother has had a back problem that continues to elude diagnosis for two years.

Back injuries are nasty and literally make your whole body hurt-it's not the same as an elbow or a wrist or a knee where it can be "gutted out" in the same way. Once it's diagnosed he'll have a much better understanding of what to do. Best of luck to him, he's a personal favorite of mine and a great energy player.