Hanzal

[DesertDawg]

Bummer, always liked the guy
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Stars center Martin Hanzal will undergo spinal fusion surgery and will be sidelined six-to-seven months.
Another procedure for his back!

Click to read more...

 

[doaner]

At some point he needs to just hang them up!

 

[Heldig]

Agreed. Time to retire. Quality of life is already impacted. Hopefully he has saved lots of money and can afford to retire in style.

 

[Prarievarg]

Sad, love Hanzal, but he should consider retiring

 

[Coyotedroppings]

Hard to give up on something you love. I've got a spinal fusion surgery coming up as well and struggle with whether to play or not, after recovery. Love of the game comes into play, as does not wanting to give into the reality of aging and ones own weakness.
Considering I Doan have several million carrots dangling in front of me, Martin's situation become's even more complicated/difficult.
Having fought my back issues for 39 years, i've been sympathetic to Hanzal's situation all along and feel bad for him.

 

[Plub]

Back issues are one of the things in life that scare me the most. There's just no recovery once you have back issues. Sucks for Hanzal.

 

[rt]

Isn’t it possible the fusion is successful and he’s just fine? Isn’t that the whole idea?

My back sucks. I’ve got a slipped disc in my lumbar area but it’s nowhere near as bad as this. I always thought about surgery as the thing you eventually do to fix your back problems and make them go away for the long term. All the stuff I do in the interim like PT, adjustments, massage, injections, drugs, etc was basically to delay the eventual surgery. As I type this out, it occurs to me that I don’t know nearly enough about prognosis. Haha.

 

[moosemeister]

Yeah he should retire.

 

[rt]

Yeah he should retire.

Why? Isn’t he having surgery to fix his problem? Isn’t that the point?

 

[Jakey53]

Why? Isn’t he having surgery to fix his problem? Isn’t that the point?

They say it's not career ending.

 

[Coyotedroppings]

Why? Isn’t he having surgery to fix his problem? Isn’t that the point?

A fusion eliminates a disc, or discs (depending on number of vertebrae being fused). Discs allow motion and absorb shock. Eliminating discs reduces motion and puts greater stress on the discs above and below the fused vertebrae. For every action, there is a reaction.
Surgery is a last resort, as it can often be unsuccessful and also often creates the need for additional surgeries in years to follow. Personally, my issue has manifested in my neck (even though I had always thought it would be my low back that would fail miserably) and I am attempting to minimize future problems by: Fusing C6/7 and having artificial discs installed above at C5/6 and C4/5. My C3/4 is not too good either and the hope is that by preserving motion in the discs below, it will keep it from going bad before I croak.
Keep doing what you're doing rt and stay diligent with it, in hopes of staying off the table.

 

[Heldig]

Why? Isn’t he having surgery to fix his problem? Isn’t that the point?

Fixing the problem to alleviate pain and reduce the risk of damage does not mean he can return to competing as a professional athlete.

Hanzal has had chronic back issues. He will continue to have them probably for life. If it were me, I would definitely consider hanging them up while I can still lift my kids, bend over to tie my shoes, etc

 

[MIGs Dog]

Worked for Tiger, but golf ain't hockey.

 

[Sinurgy]

Man that sucks, Hanzal is a really good hockey player but his back has kept him from getting to that next level that I personally think he could've reached if he were healthy most of the time. I hope this surgery works but I suspect it's at best going to delay the inevitable a bit, nonetheless fingers crossed for him!

 

[Sinurgy]

Isn’t it possible the fusion is successful and he’s just fine? Isn’t that the whole idea?

My back sucks. I’ve got a slipped disc in my lumbar area but it’s nowhere near as bad as this. I always thought about surgery as the thing you eventually do to fix your back problems and make them go away for the long term. All the stuff I do in the interim like PT, adjustments, massage, injections, drugs, etc was basically to delay the eventual surgery. As I type this out, it occurs to me that I don’t know nearly enough about prognosis. Haha.

I hear yoga is where it's at, you ever give that a try?

 

[hbk]

I hear yoga is where it's at, you ever give that a try?

I'm a big yoga guy. Started with the yoga instructor for Canucks rookies. Went in with back pain. Haven't had it since.

 

[MIGs Dog]

Assuming you don't need surgery, the key to a healthy back is core strength. Yoga works because most of the moves strengthen the core. Tai Chi also stresses core stability and balance.

Nearly everyone's discs will show wear as they age, which does not mean you have degenerative disc disease, but does mean everyone should stay active and maintain a healthy weight to avoid back problems.

 

[Coyotedroppings]

the key to a healthy back is core strength.

everyone should stay active and maintain a healthy weight to avoid back problems.

This in spades