June 28, 2025 • 9 mins
Dr. Jonathan Slaughter from OrthoCincy joined us to discuss both Wade MIley's elbow injury and the Achilles injury suffered by Tyrese Haliburton during Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Learn more about OrthoCincy by going here.
Listen to the show live weekday afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 on ESPN1530.
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Learn more about OrthoCincy by going here.
Listen to the show live weekday afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 on ESPN1530.
Listen Live: ESPN1530.com/listen
Get more: https://linktr.ee/MoEgger
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We do this weekly, typically not on Fridays, but we're
making an exception. We talk injuries with one of the
experts from Ortho Sinsey Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. The awesome
thing about Ortho Sinse is they have specialist locations and
services all over the Tri State. This includes walk in
orthopedic urgent care where you don't need an appointment at
(00:21):
five locations, and extended evening and weekend hours in Edgewood
and Anderson. Learn more at orthosinc dot com. That's Ortho
ci ncy dot com. Doctor Jonathan Slaughter is with us
from Ortho Sincy. Let's talk a little bit about Wade Miley,
who unfortunately is back on the injured list. Now there
is a sense that the injury is not as bad
(00:43):
as originally feared. But since coming back off of Tommy
John surgery, made a few starts and then during a
game against the Detroit Tigers, he was pitching through pain
and so he is dealing with a left flex restrain.
Right now, let's begin with the obvious question, what is
a flex or strain?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, so flex or strain. So it's a pull or
a injury to the muscle or tendon. Of a flexer muscle,
so muscles that flex down. So for him specifically, it
would be the common flexor tendon which is on the
inside of the elbow that the muscles that bend the
(01:23):
wrist fingers down making a fist. Those muscles attach, they
have a common tendon. They all come together kind of
and create a common tendon and attached to the inside
of the elbow. And so that is also known as
Golfer's elbow for more chronic people where they can irritate
(01:45):
that tendon or the muscle on the inside.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Of the elbow. So let's talk about I guess his
short term prognosis. What do the coming days and weeks
look like for Wade.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yeah, it's tough because he's going to decide what he
wants to do well, whether it's just going to be
time with therapy we're working on range of motion, stretching,
giving this time to heal, taking anti inflammatories, or is
he going to want to undergo a potential procedure that
could be PRP where they take some blood, spin the
blood down to get the plasma injected in to create
(02:19):
an inflammatory response to increase healing. So it's really first
going to be one rest, get the inflammation down, get
going with therapy, stretching, and then deciding is a secondary
procedure going to be beneficial in his kids.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
He was pitching through pain in that game against the Tigers.
I'm sure there's a part of him that at least
kind of wishes he can go back and redo that.
But could he have caused further damage by choosing to
pitch instead of stepping away and saying, look, I'm dealing
with some discomfort here.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Most likely he didn't cause more damage because if he
was already having pain, the damage, the pull or the
tearing up the muscle and tendon is already done. The
concern would be could he have then caused more damage
and damaged his ligment underneath, because that bustle is a
secondary stabilizer to the elbow. It's a dynamic stabilizer that
(03:14):
helps protect that ligament. And I actually talked to him
on Saturday because his son and my son play Little
Leak together different teams, and he is talking about how
he was having pain, how it's not uncommon to have
some soreness and tightness after this, which is very true.
But when he continued to have the pain, that increased
(03:35):
a little bit pitching in Detroit. That's when he's like,
it's we've got to get this checked out in more detail.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Does the prognosis change or does the treatment plan get altered,
because he recently did have Tommy John surgery.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
So the treatment plan would only alter if the ligament
was involved too. You're always concerned somebody that's gone through
Tommy John with ligament injuries. If he injured the ligament,
or the ligament was strained or injured on top of it,
that's when therapy or treatment would change. But if it's
(04:15):
just a flexor tendon strain and the ligaments intact and healthy,
there's not gapping or instability of the elbow, then it's
pretty much just treatment for the flexor tenont itself.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
All right, let's talk about Tyrese Haliburton. So a lot
of us were so excited last Sunday for Game seven
of the NBA Finals. Tyrese Haliburton is Indiana's best player,
and he's off to a great start. He had been
dealing with CAF discomfort and then he goes down and
it was heartbreaking to see. He goes down with an
achilles tendon tear. Right achilles tear, and not only did
(04:50):
they obviously not finish Game seven, but he is expected
to miss the entire following season. So we talk about
achilles tendons a lot. I do think it's worth while
Island sort of examining specifically what the tendon is. So
can you explain that for me?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Yeah, So, the Achilles tendon is actually the largest tendon,
or one of the largest tendons in the body that
connects your calf muscle, your gasmius, your calf muscle to
your heel bone or the calcaneus and allows you to
basically push down going up under your tippy toes.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
He was dealing with a calf issue, so could that
have played a role in this? And was that a
warning sign that this sort of injury was possible?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
So that's a great question because the majority of people
that tear their achilles tendon have no warning signs. It's
something like one percent of people have a pain before
tearing their achilles. Most people have no pain, and so
was it a warning sign? Obviously he did have a
strain or some sort of tear of the muscle, or
(05:56):
he likely had some tendinopathy of the tendon, which is
where the tendon is not healthy. It's not normal collagen tissue.
So it always makes you wonder did something else happen
on top of it? Could he have potentially gotten an
injection that then led to an injury. Not trying to
(06:18):
speculate or accused, but with majority of people not having
a harbinger or a warning warning sign or pain before,
it does make you wonder.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
So he's obviously very unlikely to play at all this
coming season. He has had surgery. Had surgery the day
after Game seven. Let's talk long term. Could this have
a lasting ability on his mobility and his quickness? And
I guess to a degree is overall game it really
depends on getting strength back in the calf muscle. That's
(06:53):
why it takes so long for these players to get back.
While it takes a year, is the calf muscle atrophies
so quickly with these injuries, and so it really takes
a year to that elite level to get the strength
needed to be at that elite level. Most weekend warriors
like you and me could probably be back within about
(07:16):
six months to the strength we would need to perform
at a week in warrior level. But to perform at
the top elite levels, it really takes getting that strength back.
And so if he's able to get the strength back
where they get the tendon to heal at the right level,
right length to allow him to get the strength and
(07:37):
the function, he should not have a major deficit.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
But if he doesn't get the strength back, or if
the tendon stretches out, he might have.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
A little bit of a deficit. He was one of
three players who during the playoffs suffered achilles tears, and
in Tyresee's case and Jason Tatum and the Celtics as well,
they had also played in the Olympics. It's a long season,
you know. Tyrese Haliburton was playing in the last game
of the season, four rounds of playoffs, and so a
lot of folks have speculated that it might make sense
(08:07):
to shorten the season, or even some of these guys
question whether or not they're going to play in the
Olympics because that cut into a huge part of his
offseason last year. So could something like overuse be a
factor here?
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, that's another great question because and that's true about
all sports now with how people now train more in
the offseason, there's not as much off time. Same thing
with pitchers and the Tommy John issue. Is it where
people are so they don't get the time to rest, recover,
recuperate that then leads to more injuries. It could be
(08:41):
a factor. It's hard to truly say, uh in these instances.
I mean, you did have two of three, but it
just also could be that their tendon over time gets
tendonops with where again you don't have that healthy tendon
that can and then lead to these injuries and ruptures
(09:02):
of the attendant.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Awesome insight. It's an unfortunate situation, but I appreciate you
shedding some light. We'll do it again soon, Doctor Jonathan
Slaughter from Ortho Sinse. I appreciate it, man, thanks so much.
Thank you, Mo. That's our guy, Doctor Jonathan Slaughter from
Orthos sinc I said, every week because it's true. The
awesome thing about Ortho Sinsey is they have specialists of
locations across the tri State, including walk in orthopedic urgent
(09:25):
care weekdays nine a m To nine pm and on
Saturdays nine am to one pm at both Edgewood and Anderson.
Easy because you don't need an appointment and definitely cheaper
than going to an er. Whenever you have an urgent
orthopedic injury, check out orthosincy dot com. That's ortho ci
ncy dot com.
We do this weekly, typically not on Fridays, but we're
making an exception. We talk injuries with one of the
experts from Ortho Sinsey Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. The awesome
thing about Ortho Sinse is they have specialist locations and
services all over the Tri State. This includes walk in
orthopedic urgent care where you don't need an appointment at
(00:21):
five locations, and extended evening and weekend hours in Edgewood
and Anderson. Learn more at orthosinc dot com. That's Ortho
ci ncy dot com. Doctor Jonathan Slaughter is with us
from Ortho Sincy. Let's talk a little bit about Wade Miley,
who unfortunately is back on the injured list. Now there
is a sense that the injury is not as bad
(00:43):
as originally feared. But since coming back off of Tommy
John surgery, made a few starts and then during a
game against the Detroit Tigers, he was pitching through pain
and so he is dealing with a left flex restrain.
Right now, let's begin with the obvious question, what is
a flex or strain?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, so flex or strain. So it's a pull or
a injury to the muscle or tendon. Of a flexer muscle,
so muscles that flex down. So for him specifically, it
would be the common flexor tendon which is on the
inside of the elbow that the muscles that bend the
(01:23):
wrist fingers down making a fist. Those muscles attach, they
have a common tendon. They all come together kind of
and create a common tendon and attached to the inside
of the elbow. And so that is also known as
Golfer's elbow for more chronic people where they can irritate
(01:45):
that tendon or the muscle on the inside.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Of the elbow. So let's talk about I guess his
short term prognosis. What do the coming days and weeks
look like for Wade.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yeah, it's tough because he's going to decide what he
wants to do well, whether it's just going to be
time with therapy we're working on range of motion, stretching,
giving this time to heal, taking anti inflammatories, or is
he going to want to undergo a potential procedure that
could be PRP where they take some blood, spin the
blood down to get the plasma injected in to create
(02:19):
an inflammatory response to increase healing. So it's really first
going to be one rest, get the inflammation down, get
going with therapy, stretching, and then deciding is a secondary
procedure going to be beneficial in his kids.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
He was pitching through pain in that game against the Tigers.
I'm sure there's a part of him that at least
kind of wishes he can go back and redo that.
But could he have caused further damage by choosing to
pitch instead of stepping away and saying, look, I'm dealing
with some discomfort here.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Most likely he didn't cause more damage because if he
was already having pain, the damage, the pull or the
tearing up the muscle and tendon is already done. The
concern would be could he have then caused more damage
and damaged his ligment underneath, because that bustle is a
secondary stabilizer to the elbow. It's a dynamic stabilizer that
(03:14):
helps protect that ligament. And I actually talked to him
on Saturday because his son and my son play Little
Leak together different teams, and he is talking about how
he was having pain, how it's not uncommon to have
some soreness and tightness after this, which is very true.
But when he continued to have the pain, that increased
(03:35):
a little bit pitching in Detroit. That's when he's like,
it's we've got to get this checked out in more detail.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Does the prognosis change or does the treatment plan get altered,
because he recently did have Tommy John surgery.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
So the treatment plan would only alter if the ligament
was involved too. You're always concerned somebody that's gone through
Tommy John with ligament injuries. If he injured the ligament,
or the ligament was strained or injured on top of it,
that's when therapy or treatment would change. But if it's
(04:15):
just a flexor tendon strain and the ligaments intact and healthy,
there's not gapping or instability of the elbow, then it's
pretty much just treatment for the flexor tenont itself.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
All right, let's talk about Tyrese Haliburton. So a lot
of us were so excited last Sunday for Game seven
of the NBA Finals. Tyrese Haliburton is Indiana's best player,
and he's off to a great start. He had been
dealing with CAF discomfort and then he goes down and
it was heartbreaking to see. He goes down with an
achilles tendon tear. Right achilles tear, and not only did
(04:50):
they obviously not finish Game seven, but he is expected
to miss the entire following season. So we talk about
achilles tendons a lot. I do think it's worth while
Island sort of examining specifically what the tendon is. So
can you explain that for me?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Yeah, So, the Achilles tendon is actually the largest tendon,
or one of the largest tendons in the body that
connects your calf muscle, your gasmius, your calf muscle to
your heel bone or the calcaneus and allows you to
basically push down going up under your tippy toes.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
He was dealing with a calf issue, so could that
have played a role in this? And was that a
warning sign that this sort of injury was possible?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
So that's a great question because the majority of people
that tear their achilles tendon have no warning signs. It's
something like one percent of people have a pain before
tearing their achilles. Most people have no pain, and so
was it a warning sign? Obviously he did have a
strain or some sort of tear of the muscle, or
(05:56):
he likely had some tendinopathy of the tendon, which is
where the tendon is not healthy. It's not normal collagen tissue.
So it always makes you wonder did something else happen
on top of it? Could he have potentially gotten an
injection that then led to an injury. Not trying to
(06:18):
speculate or accused, but with majority of people not having
a harbinger or a warning warning sign or pain before,
it does make you wonder.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
So he's obviously very unlikely to play at all this
coming season. He has had surgery. Had surgery the day
after Game seven. Let's talk long term. Could this have
a lasting ability on his mobility and his quickness? And
I guess to a degree is overall game it really
depends on getting strength back in the calf muscle. That's
(06:53):
why it takes so long for these players to get back.
While it takes a year, is the calf muscle atrophies
so quickly with these injuries, and so it really takes
a year to that elite level to get the strength
needed to be at that elite level. Most weekend warriors
like you and me could probably be back within about
(07:16):
six months to the strength we would need to perform
at a week in warrior level. But to perform at
the top elite levels, it really takes getting that strength back.
And so if he's able to get the strength back
where they get the tendon to heal at the right level,
right length to allow him to get the strength and
(07:37):
the function, he should not have a major deficit.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
But if he doesn't get the strength back, or if
the tendon stretches out, he might have.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
A little bit of a deficit. He was one of
three players who during the playoffs suffered achilles tears, and
in Tyresee's case and Jason Tatum and the Celtics as well,
they had also played in the Olympics. It's a long season,
you know. Tyrese Haliburton was playing in the last game
of the season, four rounds of playoffs, and so a
lot of folks have speculated that it might make sense
(08:07):
to shorten the season, or even some of these guys
question whether or not they're going to play in the
Olympics because that cut into a huge part of his
offseason last year. So could something like overuse be a
factor here?
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, that's another great question because and that's true about
all sports now with how people now train more in
the offseason, there's not as much off time. Same thing
with pitchers and the Tommy John issue. Is it where
people are so they don't get the time to rest, recover,
recuperate that then leads to more injuries. It could be
(08:41):
a factor. It's hard to truly say, uh in these instances.
I mean, you did have two of three, but it
just also could be that their tendon over time gets
tendonops with where again you don't have that healthy tendon
that can and then lead to these injuries and ruptures
(09:02):
of the attendant.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Awesome insight. It's an unfortunate situation, but I appreciate you
shedding some light. We'll do it again soon, Doctor Jonathan
Slaughter from Ortho Sinse. I appreciate it, man, thanks so much.
Thank you, Mo. That's our guy, Doctor Jonathan Slaughter from
Orthos sinc I said, every week because it's true. The
awesome thing about Ortho Sinsey is they have specialists of
locations across the tri State, including walk in orthopedic urgent
(09:25):
care weekdays nine a m To nine pm and on
Saturdays nine am to one pm at both Edgewood and Anderson.
Easy because you don't need an appointment and definitely cheaper
than going to an er. Whenever you have an urgent
orthopedic injury, check out orthosincy dot com. That's ortho ci
ncy dot com.
Mo Egger News
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