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View Full Version : Broncos LB Darrell Reid May Miss Entire Training Camp



Denver Native (Carol)
02-16-2010, 12:02 PM
http://community.kdvr.com/_Broncos-LB-Darrell-Reid-May-Miss-Entire-Training-Camp/BLOG/1865405/96399.html

Surgery may prevent Denver Broncos outside linebacker-defensive end Darrell Reid from participating fully in training camp at the very least.

“I had knee surgery in New York after I got back from the Super Bowl. I was told the recovery time could be between six to eight months,” said Reid to Fox 31’s Josina Anderson on Monday.

Reid indicated he underwent a new surgical process called the articular allograft cartilage transplant procedure in Mount Sinai hospital in New York on Feb.11. He elected this treatment to address connective tissue damage in his left knee.

“I had the surgery because I have a significant hole in the cartilage in my knee. The doctors aren’t exactly sure how this happened but they have a theory. Although there are signs of wear and tear, my injury looks like it is rigid; so they think my defect--they call it a defect--is most likely fresh,” said Reid.

Reid estimates he injured his left knee in the second half of the Broncos home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Nov.9.

Initially Reid made the decision to keep his condition to himself.

“I’m the type that doesn’t really like the training room, so I really didn’t tell the trainers what was going on at first; but after the Colts game it got so sore that I knew I had to get on top of it. I had to tell the trainers. I told them after the Colts game because I knew that it wasn’t good,” acknowledged Reid.

Reid revealed to Anderson that his decision to delay informing the Broncos training staff may have worsened his condition, but Reid also says under the team’s knowledge he played the remainder of the season on his same injured left knee.

“Continuing to play on it may have effected me from a recovery time stand point, but it was important for me to be there for my teammates. Once the defect was there though it was there, because cartilage doesn’t grow back on it’s own; but obviously the smaller the injury area the quicker the recovery time will be.”

The Broncos apparently put Reid on a schedule to aid him in playing the remainder of the season.

“After the Colts game, I played on it three more games. It was basically enough pain to play with but not to practice on consistently. When I did practice on it, it was very limited. Basically, I would just do walkthroughs and the special team periods because I was such a major factor in those phases of the game. When it comes to full contact and running on it at full speed, that was a no-no,” emphasized Reid.

By the end of the 2009-10 NFL season Reid knew he had to get surgery. He was fearful of having a microfracture procedure based on the negative feedback he received about it.

“The history on microfractures is not the best especially for football players. Nobody comes back from it better, and I didn’t see myself as being the exception to the rule. The option I took wasn’t even available to (Nuggets forward) Kenyon Martin.”

Martin had two separate microfracture procedures on both knees within an 18-month period between 2005-2006, and struggled to return with consistent playing time after his rehabilitation process.

That’s why Reid says he searched for other surgical methods. Eventually his agent suggested another new and cutting edge option.

“I first heard about the Denovo procedure from my agent,” said Reid.

Dr. Jonathan L. Glashow M.D. is the co-chief of Sports Medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, and was Reid’s lead operating surgeon.

According to Glashow, the DeNovo NT is the implanted cartilage product. However the actual medical term for the procedure Reid underwent is called the allograft articular cartilage transplant procedure.

In this procedure juvenile articular cartilage cells are placed within the defect on a joint surface of the knee.

“Articular cartilage is distinct from the fibrous meniscus cartilage which is found in the middle of your knee. It looks like rubber discs. Specifically, articular cartilage is the thick shiny white hard material that coats the end of the bone. This is the area that was affected in Darrell’s knee.”

“Darrell had an area that was sheared about ½ inch wide and 1 1/4 inches long in size. That’s a pretty significant area missing,” said Dr. Glashow to Anderson in a cell phone interview from his home in New York Monday night.

Dr. Glashow explained the new cartilage transplant procedure he used to repair Reid’s knee.

“In this procedure what we’re doing is taking juvenile articular cartilage from a young donor and then transplanting it to the damaged area. The two advantages of using younger articular cartilage from a donor is: its ability to heal more rapidly; and it has less chance of rejection as immature cells have less ability to be recognized as foreign in the recipient.”

Dr. Glashow says that the cartilage transplant procedure has been available in limitation for patients for about a year. He estimates that the procedure has been conducted on just 200 to 300 people in total so far.

Dr. Glashow explained how this new cartilage transplant procedure is viewed as more optimal than microfracture surgery in certain cases now.

“The microfracture procedure is a very simple procedure that works by poking tiny holes in the underlying bone. However, after this procedure what grows back is just fibrocartilage which many athletes feel just doesn’t hold up as well over time. However with the cartilage transplant procedure our hope and expectation is that the articular cartilage graft we put in will heal and grow in the defect and hold up better.”

Dr. Glashow says many athletes feel like this procedure is especially better for the bigger type athletes that play contact sports like in Reid’s case.

However, he emphasizes that the recovery period in both procedures is very similar.

“It allows athletes to return usually within six to eight months depending on the individual recovery.”

In the meantime, Reid has been told to walk with crutches for the next six to eight weeks.

Dr. Glashow indicated that he’ll revisit with Reid to perform another MRI in three months, and six months out as well.

“After that we will determine if Reid is ready to play again,” added Dr. Glashow.


HOW DO THE BRONCOS FEEL ABOUT THIS?

Reid, who has been in communication with the organization about his treatment, says the Broncos encouraged him to surgically repair his knee, although, he indicates they were less inclined towards this transplant procedure.

“That’s because it is relatively new. Nonetheless, the Broncos were very supportive of my decision. They just wanted me to get my knee taken care of as soon as possible so I could return back to the field with my teammates,” said Reid.

When Anderson asked Reid if he thought his surgery threatened his tenure with the team, he didn’t seem noticeably concerned.

“(The Broncos) really haven’t expressed that to me. To be honest, they really don’t have that much data to go off of in terms of when I would be ready.”

Reid is in the process of rehabbing and receiving intermittent Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) supplementation to encourage and expedite the healing in his knee at another facility in New York. In (PRP) they spin down your blood and instill the extracted growth factors where the graft is.

Reid says he’s mostly concentrating on muscular contraction work with his quadriceps, hamstring, and calf muscles to maintain strength and neural firing.

Reid is looking forward to concluding the process at Dove Valley upon his return.

Traveler
02-16-2010, 02:48 PM
Guess this might put McClain back into play with our 1st rounder.

topscribe
02-16-2010, 04:38 PM
Reid is the hardest hitter, outside B-Dawk. Let's hope he is at full strength for the regular season.

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rcsodak
02-16-2010, 07:33 PM
Guess this might put McClain back into play with our 1st rounder.

Hope not. :coffee:


He's free-falling

dogfish
02-16-2010, 07:48 PM
Hope not. :coffee:


He's free-falling


kinda like maualuga and laurinaitis did last year, huh?


mcclain isn't my top choice, but he's a perfectly good prospect who projects as a fine pro-- we could do far worse. . .

however, as reid plays OLB, i really don't know that his injury would influence us to draft ILB mcclain unless we were going to anyway. . . our depth at OLB is fine if we retain doom, as haggan was solid and ayers should hopefully be ready for a bigger role. . . reid was a strong rotational player there, though, as well as a core special teamer-- i hope he can come back strong. . . .

Traveler
02-16-2010, 08:08 PM
McClain is dropping? Why? I haven't been following prospects this year.

HORSEPOWER 56
02-16-2010, 08:54 PM
McClain is dropping? Why? I haven't been following prospects this year.

Here's the article (it's in the Draft and FA forum)

It's post #34.

http://www.broncosforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108251&page=3

Timmy!
02-16-2010, 09:05 PM
kinda like maualuga and laurinaitis did last year, huh?


mcclain isn't my top choice, but he's a perfectly good prospect who projects as a fine pro-- we could do far worse. . .

however, as reid plays OLB, i really don't know that his injury would influence us to draft ILB mcclain unless we were going to anyway. . . our depth at OLB is fine if we retain doom, as haggan was solid and ayers should hopefully be ready for a bigger role. . . reid was a strong rotational player there, though, as well as a core special teamer-- i hope he can come back strong. . . .

Special teams was the 1st thought that entered my mind when I read the article. I think that's where the Broncos would miss him the most by far.

Broncolingus
02-16-2010, 09:57 PM
Special teams was the 1st thought that entered my mind when I read the article. I think that's where the Broncos would miss him the most by far.

Yup...

CoachChaz
02-17-2010, 09:48 AM
Brandon Graham