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Former NBA team doctor Rahul Shah has provided more news on Ben Simmons and Draymond Greens’ back injuries.
Brooklyn Nets’ Ben Simmons and Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green have both grabbed the limelight recently for their respective back injuries. But Dr Rahul Shah has revealed why getting them back sooner than usual could result in a long-term issue for the players.
Dr Rahul Shah is a board-certified orthopaedic spine surgeon and has worked with the Orlando Magic in the past. So he knows a thing or two about Simmons and Green’s back issues. Now, Dr Shah has provided more clarity on why the two athletes suffer from back issues and insisted that rushing them back could prove to be disastrous.
Simmons hadn’t played the majority of the current season for the Philadelphia 76ers due to his back problem before he made the move to the Nets. Meanwhile, Draymond Green missed approximately two months of action for the Warriors.
Dr Shah used to attend Sixers games even before Simmons was part of the team and he believes that the Australian’s back problem is a recurring issue. “I think this is a recurring issue. He’s been out multiple times for this throughout his career…He’s a tall, lanky guy, and I believe that he probably has some disc issues in his back.” he said.
Shah also highlighted the importance of regularly warming up before games, “You start to warm up, jump, run, twist, torque. And now, all of a sudden, you haven’t been used to doing that. So you’re pushing your body to a place where it isn’t normally functioning. So now, once you’re there, any little irritation can potentially send you off.”
The former Magic team doctor then got around to explaining Draymond Green’s issue. He explained that Green is suffering from stiffness in his lower back and the next few weeks could be critical in evaluating his return for the Warriors.
Shah admitted, “The Warriors need to see if he (Green) can run and jump. Those are the areas where the discs…are like shock absorbers. If Green can handle the shock absorption well in practice, then he’d be on the right track to return. The next two weeks are going to be fairly critical to see if he does not make progress there.”
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