Doctor details Steph’s hamstring strain, ‘high likelihood’ of reinjury originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Steph Curry will miss at least the Warriors’ next three NBA playoff games against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a Grade 1 left hamstring he sustained in Game 1 on Tuesday night.
But concern doesn’t go out the window if and when he returns, whenever that might be.
Stanford Medicine’s Marc Safran, M.D., spoke to NBC Sports Bay Area about the possibility of Curry reinjuring his hamstring, which is the star point guard’s first muscle strain of his 16-season NBA career.
“The issue with hamstrings, particularly, is that they have a very high likelihood of recurring,” Dr. Safran said. “So the fact that this was the first one is a good sign. Hopefully, it won’t recur. But when somebody’s had a previous hamstring, the biggest concern is that it can keep recurring and continue bothering them through their career.
“The problem is we’re not really good at being able to know when the right time is that somebody can come back and have no risk of recurrence. So that’s really the major issue. A lot of times, players will feel pretty good, they’ll go through the tests, they’ll have good motion, they’ll have good strength, and they’ll go back out but still re-injure the hamstring. That makes it a little bit of a tricky issue. That’s why the hamstring, which is such an important muscle anyway, has such a high recurrence rate.
“Time and rehab and strengthening are the keys, but when you’re in the midst of the playoffs, you’re lacking that first part, the time portion.”
Tuesday was Golden State’s sixth game in 11 days after their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets went to Game 7, and it was the sixth consecutive in which the team had just one day off before the next contest.
The good news is the Warriors’ playoff schedule could give Curry extended rest days as the WNBA Golden State Valkyries, who share Chase Center with the Warriors, will open their season Friday, May 16, pushing an if-needed Game 6 to Sunday, May 18.
This would give Curry 11 full days off to rest before a potential Game 6 return.
“Some players try to get back faster if they feel good and they have full motion at full strength,” Dr. Safran said. “But at the same time, you’re playing at the risk that the quicker you get him back is the increased risk of potential reinjury or aggravation. And certainly, when they aggravate, they tend to aggravate at the same location, so it makes it a higher grade injury, and that’s what you don’t want.
“So when we talk about Grade 1 injuries, generally a week to 10 days type of timeframe. Certainly, some individuals can come back faster and try to come back faster if they feel good. the more time he has to rest and strengthen, the better. When he will be ready from a strength and pain tolerance standpoint, that’s the thing that’s more variable.”
The Warriors leaned on their old reliable “Strength in Numbers” to pull out a 99-88 win in Game 1 at Target Center. Golden State will be extra cautious with its superstar point guard before clearing him for a return to the hardwood, but Curry, driven by his emotional Game 1 exit, will come back with more motivation than ever.
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Doctor details Steph’s hamstring strain, ‘high likelihood’ of reinjury
Steph Curry will miss at least the Warriors’ next three NBA playoff games against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a Grade 1 left hamstring he sustained in Game 1 on Tuesday night.
But concern doesn’t go out the window if and when he returns, whenever that might be.
Stanford Medicine’s Marc Safran, M.D., spoke to NBC Sports Bay Area about the possibility of Curry reinjuring his hamstring, which is the star point guard’s first muscle strain of his 16-season NBA career.
SIGN UP HERE “The issue with hamstrings, particularly, is that they have a very high likelihood of recurring,” Dr. Safran said. “So the fact that this was the first one is a good sign. Hopefully, it won’t recur. But when somebody’s had a previous hamstring, the biggest concern is that it can keep recurring and continue bothering them through their career.
“The problem is we’re not really good at being able to know when the right time is that somebody can come back and have no risk of recurrence. So that’s really the major issue. A lot of times players will feel pretty good, they’ll go through the tests, they’ll have good motion, they’ll have good strength, and they’ll go back out but still re-injure the hamstring. That makes it a little bit of a tricky issue. That’s why the hamstring, which is such an important muscle anyway, has such a high recurrence rate.
“Time and rehab and strengthening are the keys, but when you’re in the midst of the playoffs, you’re lacking that first part, the time portion.”
Tuesday was Golden State’s sixth game in 11 days after their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets went to Game 7, and it was the sixth consecutive in which the team had just one day off before the next contest.
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The good news is the Warriors’ playoff schedule could give Curry extended rest days as the WNBA Golden State Valkyries, who share Chase Center with the Warriors, will open their season Friday, May 16, pushing an if-needed Game 6 to Sunday, May 18.
This would give Curry 11 full days off to rest before a potential Game 6 return.
“Some players try to get back faster if they feel good and they have full motion at full strength,” Dr. Safran said. “But at the same time, you’re playing at the risk that the quicker you get him back is the increased risk of potential reinjury or aggravation. And certainly, when they aggravate, they tend to aggravate at the same location, so it makes it a higher grade injury, and that’s what you don’t want.
“So when we talk about Grade 1 injuries, generally a week to 10 days type of timeframe. Certainly, some individuals can come back faster and try to come back faster if they feel good. the more time he has to rest and strengthen, the better. When he will be ready from a strength and pain tolerance standpoint, that’s the thing that’s more variable.”
The Warriors leaned on their old reliable “Strength in Numbers” to pull out a 99-88 win in Game 1 at Target Center. Golden State will be extra cautious with its superstar point guard before clearing him for a return to the hardwood, but Curry, driven by his emotional Game 1 exit, will come back with more motivation than ever.
