Bursitis is defined as, “the swelling and irritation of a bursa. A bursa is a fluid-filled sac that acts as a cushion between a muscles, tendons, and joints.”
What’s described above is reportedly exactly what’s wrong with Bryce Harper. Although the Nationals aren’t implying it, this is scary as hell. It shouldn’t only freak out Harper, but fantasy owners as well.
I own Bryce Harper on both my fantasy teams. I took him with my second pick with high expectations and the gamble paid off tremendously for the first month. That is, until Harper decided to go head first into a wall at Dodger Stadium. He’s been banged up since.
Fact is, Harper is just a kid who doesn’t know any other way to play. He goes balls-to-walls (literally), aka 110 percent. And now he’s paying the price.
Although he’s hitting .287/12/23 on the season, Harper has been taken out of games off and on for the past two weeks since his kamikaze nose-dive into the wall in L.A. As soon as you think he’s going to get hot again, he gets benched. After sitting out all of this week — reportedly hoping for a return Wednesday — the Nationals are now saying the weekend series is in doubt. Not good news.
These guys reported that Manager Davey Johnson said, “It’s kind of a tough thing – inflammation, bursa sac, whatever you want to call it – hopefully if he just stays off it, (it will improve),” Johnson said. “He’s been trying to go down in the cages and hit and take BP. Hopefully maybe two more days. Hopefully he’ll be able to come back and play. Hopefully.”
Johnson reportedly implied that Harper’s chances of playing this weekend “aren’t good.”
As per PubMedHealth, Bursitis is caused:
Bursitis is often a result of overuse. It can be caused by a change in activity level, such as training for a marathon or by being overweight.
Bursitis can also be caused by trauma, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, or infection. Sometimes the cause cannot be found.
Cause cannot be found? For God sakes, let’s just hope it’s via run-into-the-wall-face-first-itis. And reading the treatment and prevention is laughable for a guy like Harper:
For bursitis around the hips, knees, or ankle:
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Try not to stand for long periods of time.
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When standing, stand on a soft, cushioned surface. Stand with an equal amount of weight on each leg.
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Placing a pillow between your knees when lying on your side can help decrease your pain.
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Flat shoes that are cushioned and comfortable often help.
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If you are overweight, losing weight may also be helpful.
You should avoid activities that involve repetitive movements of any body part whenever possible.
So basically Harper needs to stay off his feet and rest with a pillow between his knees? Ya, unless he’s super human, he’s not playing for awhile folks. Just reading how to treat Bursitis scares the crap out of me. Is Harper really able to return soon from something like this?
Harper hit successfully in four straight games and had two home runs in 10 days, so it’s obvious he can still play, even with the pain — as long as he can stand it; but that’s the big question.
The good news is that players have played through this before and surgery is rarely required. So it is likely Harper will eventually make a treutn.
Does Bursitis make me nervous with Harper? Yes. Does this mean you should trade him? No. Sit tight for awhile but monitor closely. A DL stint might be likely — let’s just hope the trainers in Washington know what they’re doing. If Harper is healthy come September, he’ll still win you a championship. Until then, take care of your bursa sac, folks.
Josh Helmuth is the editor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JHelmuth or subscribe at Facebook.com/CraveOnlineSports for the latest in sports on your newsfeed.
