Orthopedic Surgeons And Diagnosing Injuries
August 11th, 2023
Bucs sacks king Shaq Barrett.
A lot of Bucs fans are wringing their hands wondering when or if Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen will be ready to start a game.
Recent words from Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht about Jensen’s status sure weren’t reassuring.
Is Jensen the only other veteran Bucs starter who may miss time? In October (Week 8), Bucs sacks king Shaq Barrett blew out an Achilles. Those can be devastating injuries (just ask O.J. Howard).
But unlike Jensen, Shaq has been practicing regularly during Bucs training camp and it doesn’t appear he will miss any time.
Dr. David Chao isn’t so sure. Chao, a former head trainer for the (then) San Diego Chargers is also an orthopedic surgeon in southern California specializing in sports medicine.
In part due to the popularity of fantasy sports, Chao has started his own website where he diagnoses of injuries and estimates timetables for a player’s return. As a result, he has developed sort of a cottage industry of discussing sports injuries with the general public.
Chao says Shaq may not play Week 1 at Minnesota.
Barrett’s 2022 season ended prematurely due to a left Achilles tear he suffered Week 8 vs Baltimore. He has been rehabbing ever since and feels that he can return Week 1 for sure. We believe that this injury requires extra rehab and caution so Week 1 would be pushing it for Barrett.
Well, let Joe be explicitly clear: To the best of Joe’s knowledge, Chao has never treated Shaq, seen him or studied his MRI results or X-Rays, and he’s not abreast of Shaq’s daily progress.
So what Chao is offering is a very educated guess.
Eyeballing Shaq, Joe sees no reason he can’t suit up for Week 1. And if the Bucs were really concerned about Shaq’s health, Joe has a hunch Shaq wouldn’t be practicing as much as he is.
Yes, Joe expects Shaq to get at least a few snaps tonight.
Another thing about Chao that Joe found funny, Chao recently stated that Dolphins corner Jalen Ramsey, while he may return to the field this year after rehabbing an injured knee, won’t be 100 percent until next year.
Ramsey got wind of this and became so rankled he had a TwitFit on X. LOL
August 11th, 2023 at 8:07 am
Joe,
Yet another so called expert former guy looking to find a way to cah in.
Next
Go Bucs!
August 11th, 2023 at 8:14 am
Chao, the disgraced former chargers doctor who has lost several malpractice cases and had his license suspended for years…. that’s the guy we are trusting to diagnose patients he’s never seen? He couldn’t even stop writing ambien prescriptions for Junior Seau! We see how well that all turned out. Citing this jackass as a source should probably just stop. He needs to go crawl back under a rock.
August 11th, 2023 at 8:32 am
Shaq will start week 1, book it. Go Bucs!
August 11th, 2023 at 8:36 am
@Mort exactly. The guy is a joke
August 11th, 2023 at 8:38 am
D@ng Mort – that was strong!
August 11th, 2023 at 8:45 am
Mort! That was Morton Downey, Jr.-esque.
Look it up, youngsters.
August 11th, 2023 at 9:16 am
Was he the one that stabbed Tyrod with the needle and punctured his lungs??
August 11th, 2023 at 9:18 am
How can you say it took 5 minutes to cook your Grits when it takes the whole Grit eating world 20 minutes.
August 11th, 2023 at 9:25 am
They’ll know way better after a few snaps in the preseason.
August 11th, 2023 at 9:30 am
LOL! No.
August 11th, 2023 at 9:47 am
Does anyone know what kind of Achilles injury Shaq even had? Was it a partial, complete tear? Or was it a rupture? Usually guys have an easier time coming back from clean tears. Ruptures are what can be very hard to come back from and regain their explosiveness like OJ Howard or Marlon Mack.
It’d be much easier if the NFL would allow peptide and GH therapy to heal up from major injuries.
August 11th, 2023 at 10:32 am
I guess Dr. Choate isn’t watching Bucs practices because Shaq has been practicing without any hesitation.
August 11th, 2023 at 10:34 am
@Dwayne Cone,
Love the My Cousin Vinny reference! Great movie.
August 11th, 2023 at 11:27 am
We’ll. The dude is flat wrong about Barrett. I’ve been through the surgery before and was cleared for sports in a near record time of five months. I’m 100% sure with Shaq practicing already and the opener coming nine months after injury that he will be 100+% I was greater than 100% six months after surgery.
August 11th, 2023 at 11:29 am
Mort… this “doctor” is trying to stay relevant. If Doctor Death was allowed media access, he’d be doing the same thing from his prison cell.
August 11th, 2023 at 12:43 pm
I tend to respect Dr. Chao analysis.
He is pretty clear in that he has never looked at the players and is making his diagnosis from limited information.
But if you have been following him for the last 5 years like I have, you will see that he has been correct on Bucs in the past.
The most interesting time that I watched him was the night of Damar Hamlin heart arrest. He was right on TV that night explaining what was going on with Demar.
August 11th, 2023 at 12:59 pm
If Shaq can practice at full speed and is pain free afterwards, he should be go to go. In my younger days on a basketball team, I tried to come back too soon and lost the whole season. If Shaq is smart, he will bench himself with any twinge of pain related to his injury. He won’t know for sure until he tests himself under full game exertion and heavy contact.
August 11th, 2023 at 1:59 pm
Fun fact: I met with David Chao about 10 years ago when I needed shoulder surgery, but went with a different surgeon instead.
Also, anyone giving prognostications on injuries that they haven’t personally assessed, seen imagery on, etc., is just blowing smoke out their backside.