MDT: A Slam Dunk For Back Pain In The NBA

It is a fairly regular occurrence these days - back pain in NBA players. A quick Google search reveals plenty of big names: Derrick Rose, Metta World Peace, Amar’e Stoudamire, Carmelo Anthony, Larry Johnson, Dirk Nowitzki, and Larry Bird. That was just pages 1 and 2 of the search. There have been plenty of careers that have ended abruptly due to back pain.

While we’re at it, let’s tally up the annual salaries of those individuals, or better yet, the salary-per-game. Multiply this by the number of games lost to injury. I hope your calculator can handle a lot of zeros.

The most recent addition to the Hall Of Pain is Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. He is out with “back spasms”. He has missed five of the last 7 games prior to Saturday, April 14th. That can’t be a good thing when your team is fighting for a playoff spot and playoffs begin April 28.

The NBA and its teams need a solution to the back pain epidemic. Allow me to introduce you to Mechanical Diagnosis And Therapy, or MDT.

Dwight Howard is the latest high-profile player to lose playing time to back pain. According to news reports, Howard was diagnosed with a herniated disc. Mr. Howard, I would respectfully submit that about 70% of asymptomatic people – basketball players and otherwise – share your problem. According to those same reports, Howard “received an epidural injection to treat the symptoms and likely will begin physical-therapy work Monday" (4/16). He will rest his back and be re-evaluated in 10 to 14 days. And, yes, imagine this, surgery remains an option.

What? Seriously?

I am not a rocket scientist, and I am not a physician. I have not had the privilege of performing a mechanical assessment on Mr. Howard’s lumbar spine. But let’s review the facts. This is a 7’ 0” tall man that sits on a bench that is about 18 inches tall. He travels across the country in airline seating that has him in a sustained flexed posture for hours on end. Then, he remains in that same flexed posture while getting pounded in the paint. Let’s be serious here: the symptomatic and mechanical responses to mechanical loading strategies – otherwise known as MDT - might just provide some input on this one. But I digress.

This is a player that is making $18 million over this 66 game season. That is $273,000 per game. According to my math, that is $1.36 million lost from this episode of back pain. And this is the first option for care? I would get upset if this was the FIRST choice for ANY of my athletic clients – multi-millionaires or otherwise.

I just don’t get it. Maybe MDT isn't glamorous enough. Maybe it’s the fact that it is not a passive approach to care.

Sadly, until enough high-profile athletes have been exposed to the power of MDT, there will continue to be millions of dollars in player salaries lost, along with plenty of games with decreased attendance and the revenue-generating ticket sales that go along with those games.

General managers around the league, take note. MDT is a slam dunk for back pain in the NBA. You would pay millions of dollars for slam dunks from your players, now how about your team's health care needs?

Photo credits: Keith Allison