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The real news on Peyton Manning's twice-addressed knee problem has spilled out in dribs and drabs in recent weeks, with the newest semi-revelation coming Thursday at the Indianapolis Colts' practice facility:
Like Tom Brady, Kellen Winslow and so many other athletes who've been affected by this burgeoning problem, Manning, too, had a staph infection.
A staph infection attacked his bursa, forcing the first procedure that kept him out of the start of training camp.
And the same infection forced doctors to go in a second time later in camp, likely pushing back Manning's recovery timetable by a couple of weeks.
In a sense, the Colts and Manning were fortunate that the staph outbreak (or, as it's sometimes called, MRSA -- methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) wasn't worse.
Look at the New England Patriots and their quarterback, Brady. It was reported this week that he has had three staph-infection-related procedures since his initial knee surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament. If doctors can't get the newest infection under control, Brady might have to do his knee surgery all over again, pushing back his return to late 2009 or even 2010.
"This is a disaster potentially,'' Dr. Rob Gotlin, director of Orthopaedic and Sports Rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, told ESPN Radio.
The bigger questions, though, are where have all these staph infections come from, and why are they affecting athletes at all levels -- even young kids -- with such growing ferocity?
It used to be that staph infections were limited to people in hospitals and nursing homes, but now they are affecting athletes at every level. It's not just pro football's two marquee quarterbacks; according to several news reports six Cleveland Browns players have had staph since 2005. That includes Winslow, a tight end who recently (and properly) blasted his own organization for refusing to publicly come clean on the scope and type of his illness.
Just last week, it was reported that UNC-Asheville's Kenny George, at 7-7 the nation's tallest college basketball player, had part of his foot amputated because of a staph infection.
This thing is growing. And growing. And growing.
The NFL says it's on the case.
The NFLPA says it's on the case.
They had better be, or they could be looking at a story that looks like something written by Michael Crichton.
"Staph infections are an issue across our country in all walks of life,'' NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Star. "Our medical staffs are well aware of the national issue. They heard a presentation on it in Indy at the combine in 2006 from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). And our medical staffs have discussed it at other meetings over the past several years and have shared information on prevention and treatment of staph.''
Staph is defined by medicinenet.com as a group of bacteria that can cause a multitude of diseases as a result of infection of various tissues of the body.
It has become common enough in the NFL where the Colts and many other teams have pictures on the training room wall showing staph infections at different stages of incubation. The team's medical staff has spoken to the players about the bug and have taken precautions.
"I had one about two years ago, and it starts out like it's nothing, like it's just a hair bump or something,'' said center Jeff Saturday, the Colts' Players Association representative. "It's important to get it really early.''
The first issue is why these super bugs have developed, and the answer, according to some in the medical community, is the overuse of antibiotics.
The second issue is why it is affecting athletes, and that goes to issues of locker room proximity, shared hot tubs and open wounds.
In a recent New England Journal of Medicine article, researchers, "observed a lack of regular access to hand hygiene for trainers who provided wound care; skipping of showers by players before the use of communal whirlpools; and sharing of towels -- all factors that might facilitate the transmission of infection in this setting."
The most recent infection involved Winslow. The Browns didn't want to disclose the nature of his illness when he entered the hospital with an "undisclosed illness.'' But when Winslow was released from the hospital, he spilled the beans, said he wanted to come clean all along and felt like the Browns treated him "like a piece of meat.''
The Browns have since suspended Winslow, which is about as wrong-headed a decision as an organization can make. Winslow wanted his illness made public so that people would know what was going on with this growing problem, a problem where Cleveland seems to have become Ground Zero. The Browns simply wanted to limit the PR damage, whatever that might have been.
"We've got to be careful summarizing the NFL as infectious because me and Brady had it,'' Manning said.
Except it hasn't been just Brady and Manning, although the presence of staph in both ought to set off some awfully loud alarm bells.
It's one thing for players to put their bodies on the line every time they walk onto the field. To risk an illness so virulent when they're merely lounging in the locker room, that's a different story.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081024/SPORTS15/810240383
Like Tom Brady, Kellen Winslow and so many other athletes who've been affected by this burgeoning problem, Manning, too, had a staph infection.
A staph infection attacked his bursa, forcing the first procedure that kept him out of the start of training camp.
And the same infection forced doctors to go in a second time later in camp, likely pushing back Manning's recovery timetable by a couple of weeks.
In a sense, the Colts and Manning were fortunate that the staph outbreak (or, as it's sometimes called, MRSA -- methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) wasn't worse.
Look at the New England Patriots and their quarterback, Brady. It was reported this week that he has had three staph-infection-related procedures since his initial knee surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament. If doctors can't get the newest infection under control, Brady might have to do his knee surgery all over again, pushing back his return to late 2009 or even 2010.
"This is a disaster potentially,'' Dr. Rob Gotlin, director of Orthopaedic and Sports Rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, told ESPN Radio.
The bigger questions, though, are where have all these staph infections come from, and why are they affecting athletes at all levels -- even young kids -- with such growing ferocity?
It used to be that staph infections were limited to people in hospitals and nursing homes, but now they are affecting athletes at every level. It's not just pro football's two marquee quarterbacks; according to several news reports six Cleveland Browns players have had staph since 2005. That includes Winslow, a tight end who recently (and properly) blasted his own organization for refusing to publicly come clean on the scope and type of his illness.
Just last week, it was reported that UNC-Asheville's Kenny George, at 7-7 the nation's tallest college basketball player, had part of his foot amputated because of a staph infection.
This thing is growing. And growing. And growing.
The NFL says it's on the case.
The NFLPA says it's on the case.
They had better be, or they could be looking at a story that looks like something written by Michael Crichton.
"Staph infections are an issue across our country in all walks of life,'' NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Star. "Our medical staffs are well aware of the national issue. They heard a presentation on it in Indy at the combine in 2006 from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). And our medical staffs have discussed it at other meetings over the past several years and have shared information on prevention and treatment of staph.''
Staph is defined by medicinenet.com as a group of bacteria that can cause a multitude of diseases as a result of infection of various tissues of the body.
It has become common enough in the NFL where the Colts and many other teams have pictures on the training room wall showing staph infections at different stages of incubation. The team's medical staff has spoken to the players about the bug and have taken precautions.
"I had one about two years ago, and it starts out like it's nothing, like it's just a hair bump or something,'' said center Jeff Saturday, the Colts' Players Association representative. "It's important to get it really early.''
The first issue is why these super bugs have developed, and the answer, according to some in the medical community, is the overuse of antibiotics.
The second issue is why it is affecting athletes, and that goes to issues of locker room proximity, shared hot tubs and open wounds.
In a recent New England Journal of Medicine article, researchers, "observed a lack of regular access to hand hygiene for trainers who provided wound care; skipping of showers by players before the use of communal whirlpools; and sharing of towels -- all factors that might facilitate the transmission of infection in this setting."
The most recent infection involved Winslow. The Browns didn't want to disclose the nature of his illness when he entered the hospital with an "undisclosed illness.'' But when Winslow was released from the hospital, he spilled the beans, said he wanted to come clean all along and felt like the Browns treated him "like a piece of meat.''
The Browns have since suspended Winslow, which is about as wrong-headed a decision as an organization can make. Winslow wanted his illness made public so that people would know what was going on with this growing problem, a problem where Cleveland seems to have become Ground Zero. The Browns simply wanted to limit the PR damage, whatever that might have been.
"We've got to be careful summarizing the NFL as infectious because me and Brady had it,'' Manning said.
Except it hasn't been just Brady and Manning, although the presence of staph in both ought to set off some awfully loud alarm bells.
It's one thing for players to put their bodies on the line every time they walk onto the field. To risk an illness so virulent when they're merely lounging in the locker room, that's a different story.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081024/SPORTS15/810240383
