Confirmed with Link: Jack Eichel has herniated disc in neck/season over

[Selanne00008]

I am def worried that he won't really ever be 100%. Once a disc is herniated it really won't ever feel 110% before the rupture.
If he's having surgery that could mean the last 8 weeks of rehab weren't enough to get it to a place where he can compete at his normal level which is a concern.

Maybe too many squats when he was still growing. I remember those videos of him working out before getting drafted.

 

[brian_griffin]

I am no expert, but i would think that an upper spine injury is better for an athlete than a lower spine.

I've had an L4/L5 herniated disc, which isn't exactly rare, but a cervical herniated disc sounds scarier

My late brother and I have congenital back issues. He had L4/L5 fused and C3/C4 fused several years later. The next step was to fuse C4/C5, which he and his Dr. mutually agreed to defer because it was kicking the can down the road to an eventual fusion of C5/C6, and so on down the spine.

In my brother's case, which may not be indicative of either the public at large, or Eichel / athletes in particular, the cervical issues were way worse than the lumbar, both before and after surgery. It eventually put him on permanent disability (which he would have qualified for years before) and near-constant pain. Fortunately, he stayed away from the oxycontin, etc., but did run his own non-FDA approved, unauthorized personal medical marijuana trial. I miss him, but take solace in the fact he's no longer in pain.

 

[Djp]

There's no evidence the pre-training camp injury and which ended his season were the same.

Did he injure his neck in summer training and then this moment was when he aggravated the injury to point that he needed surgery?

Or were they separate? It's all speculation for now.

my gut said this was injured previously where it could grave affected his shoulder that caused problems preseason

 

[SI90]

Any word on why they waited so long for surgery? He’s been out for awhile correct?

 

[Buffaloed]

Any word on why they waited so long for surgery? He’s been out for awhile correct?

Surgery is a last resort. The vast majority of herniated discs respond to physical therapy and traction.

 

[Buffaloed]

my gut said this was injured previously where it could grave affected his shoulder that caused problems preseason

When the nerve root becomes compressed or inflamed it results in radicular symptoms. When the cervical vertebrae are affected that means pain, weakness, numbness and tingling in the arms and shoulders.

Nerve roots C3 through C8 all pass through the shoulder. If a cervical nerve root becomes compressed or irritated in the neck, it can cause pain and symptoms that radiate along the path of the nerve into the shoulder, arm and/or hand.

I have a c6-c7 disc herniation. It hasn't bothered me in years, but it took a lot of physical therapy and traction to be pain free. Most of it involves doing specific exercises to build up the neck muscles so they take the pressure off the spine. If Eichel had this injury in camp, they should have shut him down for at least the first 6 weeks and got him all in on PT. It's not something that you can play through or that will improve with time.

 

[truthbluth]

When the nerve root becomes compressed or inflamed it results in radicular symptoms. When the cervical vertebrae are affected that means pain, weakness, numbness and tingling in the arms and shoulders.

Nerve roots C3 through C8 all pass through the shoulder. If a cervical nerve root becomes compressed or irritated in the neck, it can cause pain and symptoms that radiate along the path of the nerve into the shoulder, arm and/or hand.

I have a c6-c7 disc herniation. It hasn't bothered me in years, but it took a lot of physical therapy and traction to be pain free. Most of it involves doing specific exercises to build up the neck muscles so they take the pressure off the spine. If Eichel had this injury in camp, they should have shut him down for at least the first 6 weeks and got him all in on PT. It's not something that you can play through or that will improve with time.

It was obvious from the get go he wasn’t 100% or close to it. They shouldn’t have let him play a game.

 

[brian_griffin]

Given this announcement re: disc, neck surgery, and the obvious pain, it’s understandable he developed an addiction and substance abuse issues.


...idiots...will they recant?

 

[oldgoalie]

Given this announcement re: disc, neck surgery, and the obvious pain, it’s understandable he developed an addiction and substance abuse issues.


...idiots...will they recant?

say what?

 

[Royisgone]

Any word on why they waited so long for surgery? He’s been out for awhile correct?

I would imagine they wanted to avoid surgery at all costs, and make sure that all other forms of treatment did *not* work before going under the knife.

Sounds like the other stuff didn't work.

One wonders if peak Eichel no longer exists; now he's "bad neck" Eichel. We'll find out.

 

[joshjull]

say what?

I think he’s throwing a shot at the folks floating substance abuse rumors as the reason for Jack’s absence.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

say what?

Someone posted about rumored substance abuse- no source, no info, just rumor-mongering.

Hope Jack is alright, wonder when it happened.

Reading way too much into things.. idk, his spittin chiclets interview from before the season sounds odd in hindsight. Nothing telling, but it might have lacked a certain confidence- I just don’t recall him saying “oh yeah I’m ready to go”- if I remember right he talked more about the rushed feel of it all, etc. I’m wondering if he was already hurt then?

Anyways, hope he heals up as best as possible from this, terrible injury unfortunately.

 

[tellermine]

That is actually bit scary if you think hockey as a sport. Loads of possibilities to get injured again if you have serious enough herniated disc.
Hope he gets back 100%

 

[SI90]

I would imagine they wanted to avoid surgery at all costs, and make sure that all other forms of treatment did *not* work before going under the knife.

Sounds like the other stuff didn't work.

One wonders if peak Eichel no longer exists; now he's "bad neck" Eichel. We'll find out.

hes young. Hopefully it’s not lingering and he has a full recovery

 

[Butt Ox]

Given this announcement re: disc, neck surgery, and the obvious pain, it’s understandable he developed an addiction and substance abuse issues.


...idiots...will they recant?

The proper thing to do would be to double down on the dumb and posit the reason Eichel is out for the season is he couldn't hide the ankle monitor effectively.

Never expected him to play this season after shutting it down. He's an elite athlete with an abundance of self-confidence. He'll bounce back.

 

[Buffaloed]

He should give Gary Roberts a call before he goes under the knife:
neck injury Archives - PRI Clinic
Gary Roberts was playing with the Calgary Flames when he suffered a major neck injury. With nerve damage and tingling in his arms that numerous surgeries and rehab did not improve, he thought his hockey days were over. “I couldn’t hold a steak knife to cut my food,” he recalls. “My career was over. I was a pretty lost soul.” Roberts then began receiving treatment from a sports chiropractor. He not only experienced relief from his symptoms, but also regained enough strength and mobility to return to the ice. He went on to play professional hockey for 13 more years!

 

[2 others]

Maybe he suffered from this since his early days when he started, or a while after he started working out with too much weight.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[SundherDome]

Surgery is a last resort. The vast majority of herniated discs respond to physical therapy and traction.

Exactly this, I have one and it is bad. PT and an injection have been miracles.

 

[Buffaloed]

That's good that they're giving rehab more time.

 

[joshjull]

 

[KiwiGriff]

Exactly this, I have one and it is bad. PT and an injection have been miracles.

Steroid injection right between the vertebrae?

 

[SundherDome]

Steroid injection right between the vertebrae?

Sounds about right, mine was between the discs on the sciatic nerve I believe. Sprayed that bad boy up and it felt better about a week later

 

[paulmm3]

I actually am an emergency room MD in real life. These injuries are super heterogeneous. What part of the disc is herniated, how far out of place is it, and what's the symptom burden?

Buffaloed above is correct. The typical treatment ladder is essentially "conservative" therapies, and then surgery if those don't work. Ibuprofen, tylenol, and physical therapy are first line. There's really not much data to support steroid injections - but some people find they help - and there's not a tremendous down side. There aren't too many other therapies that occupy the middle ground between physical therapy and surgery.

All this is a fancy way of saying we have no idea - anything can happen. I'd have cautious optimism the physical herniation is on the smaller side based on the hope until a few days ago that Jack would be able to return this season.

It's always better not to have surgery if you don't absolutely need it. However, Jack is young and healthy and should recover fine, and physically removing the problem should help a lot. Disclaimer that I'm not an orthopedic surgeon and I haven't seen Jack's scans, but as a Sabres fan I'm optimistic about his availability and his condition for next year

 

[Jim Bob]

I actually am an emergency room MD in real life. These injuries are super heterogeneous. What part of the disc is herniated, how far out of place is it, and what's the symptom burden?

Buffaloed above is correct. The typical treatment ladder is essentially "conservative" therapies, and then surgery if those don't work. Ibuprofen, tylenol, and physical therapy are first line. There's really not much data to support steroid injections - but some people find they help - and there's not a tremendous down side. There aren't too many other therapies that occupy the middle ground between physical therapy and surgery.

All this is a fancy way of saying we have no idea - anything can happen. I'd have cautious optimism the physical herniation is on the smaller side based on the hope until a few days ago that Jack would be able to return this season.

It's always better not to have surgery if you don't absolutely need it. However, Jack is young and healthy and should recover fine, and physically removing the problem should help a lot. Disclaimer that I'm not an orthopedic surgeon and I haven't seen Jack's scans, but as a Sabres fan I'm optimistic about his availability and his condition for next year

The most important question is.... did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?