Originally posted by chambers84
WELL, this has been a fun thread to read on and on and on. BUT for your information as I work in a Military hopital every day with top noth DR's, a partially TORN MCL is in fact a sprain or a strain. I asked about it, and it's the same thing. It's just termanology. People (sports atheletes and Docs) try to make an injury sound a lot less serious than it really is. **NOTE** WEEDS, the comment you made about Emmitt Smith wasn't very necessary. He wanted the record, he got it, he deserved it. Barry Sanders would have broke it years ago, but Emmitt kept playing. Brett Favre's toughman act will catch up with him. If he play's this week, ya he's a toughman, but also a stupid one. Why risk further injury?? It's going to be a bit cold outside at night. Yeah something Favre has dealt with many times in the past, but not with a KNEE INJURY. Miami 27-17
First of all I will say it again, it was the LCL not the MCL. Two very different ligaments. If it was the MCL, I don't think there'd be a chance in hell Favre would play. Second yes, a tear to a ligament is a sprain, however a sprain is not necessarily a tear in a ligament. There are three degrees of a sprain. First degree, which is what Sherman reported that the doctors said of Favre, represents little to no stretching of the ligament, but inflamation. A second degree sprain is a partial tear of the ligament. A third degree sprain is a complete tear of the ligament. I can provide you with various medical sources on this if you do not believe me, or you can check at work if you'd like.
Also, it was I that made the comment about Emmitt Smith. I don't have a problem with him pursuing the record. What ticked me off was the fact that his team winning that day came second in his mind to getting the record. I get that from the post game interview where he was all smiles (despite the loss), told the reporter it was everything he could have imagined, and then only brought up the loss as an afterthought. Also, I don't think what I said about Emmit Smith is nearly as out of line as the numerous references to Favre's previous addiction to painkillers. BTW FinFan it may interest you to know that one, he cleaned up by his own decision and two, he doesn't even take painkillers for legitimate reasons anymore (its well documented that he even turned down painkillers after having his wisdom teeth removed).
As far as the stupidity of Favre playing this weekend, that's all conjecture and opinion. If it is a tear of his LCL it will take 8-10 months to heal. In other words, keeping him out an extra week will make little difference in the amount of risk of further injury. That is why he's wearing a brace. Also, since it is the LCL, it is the most minor of knee injuries. Since the LCL is on the outside of the knee it has the least role in knee stability of any of the four knee ligaments. In other words, the brace should do just as much to support the knee as a fully healthy LCL would. Again, I can provide medical sources for this information if you don't believe me.
This thread has gotten to the point of being rediculous, so I will let it drop. If you want those medical sources let me know, otherwise I'm done with this thread. I think we've all got better topics to waste our time on.