Mario Playing Through His Injury

[CowboysTexansFan]

Here's a blurb from Pro Football Weekly. I have a lot of respect for Mario Williams playing through a painful injury, and playing well. At the game on Sunday, he was double-teamed more than I've seen at any of the other home games. On one play, I also saw him take a vicious chip from a running back while he was manned up against an offensive tackle. Ouch!

Despite all that, he was still a force against the run. He was also able to get past the blockers and get pressure on Losman on some occasions, though he couldn't get a sack because Losman got rid of the ball quickly.
Mario is going to be a great one, I'm convinced of that.

http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/The+Way+We+Hear+It/default.htm?mode=afcsouth

[snip]

Texans DE Mario Williams is playing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, and the team is encouraging him to play through the pain. Plantar fasciitis is a condition causing pain and inflammation in the heel, and rest is usually an adequate prescription. But Williams’ condition is not considered serious, and with the Texans’ defensive line ravaged by injuries, Williams will stay in the lineup. Williams has never suffered a serious injury, and he is simply not used to being hurt, so he is learning to play with the pain. The Texans have lost DTs Seth Payne and Travis Johnson to season-ending injuries, which will necessitate DE Anthony Weaver taking some snaps inside. In short, the Texans need Williams more than ever, and they need him to continue to perform at a high level in spite of his injury.

[snip]

 

[nunusguy]

"But Williams’ condition is not considered serious"
**************************
Its serious enough to have an adverse impact upon his performance.
But the big question is whether or not it's a recurring injury ? And on an annual basis ?
Mario and all NFL rookies, because of the length of the pro season, subject
their bodies to a much longer season than what they were accustomed to befor.

 

[eriadoc]

Plantar Fascitis:

http://www.ourfootdoctor.com/yourfeet_plantarfasciitis.shtml?gclid=COCjq_Hd2IgCFTuZGgod5EqKhg

 

[South Texan]

From WEBMD.com:

What Are the Treatments?

Most healthcare providers agree that initial treatment for plantar fasciitis should be quite conservative. You'll probably be advised to back off on any exercise that is making your pain worse.

A heel pad is sometimes used to cushion the painful heel. Custom-made orthotic devices may be constructed to address specific issues you may have with foot placement or gait.

Stretching exercises performed 3-5 times a day can help elongate the heel cord. You may be advised to apply ice packs to your heel or to use an ice block to massage the plantar fascia before going to bed each night. Ultrasound therapy can be performed; this can increase circulation and aid healing.

Simple over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen) are often helpful in decreasing inflammation and pain. If you have stomach trouble from such over-the-counter NSAIDs, your healthcare provider may prescribe an alternative. A night splint is sometimes used to hold your foot at a specific angle, which prevents the plantar fascia from shortening during sleep.

Most practitioners agree that treatment for plantar fasciitis is a slow process. Improvement usually takes 6-12 weeks, and the condition may still linger at a lower level for up to six months or longer. If, however, the more conservative measures do not provide relief in a reasonable length of time, your doctor may suggest other treatment.

Anti-inflammatory steroid injections directly into the tissue around your heel may be temporarily helpful. However, if these injections are used too many times, you may suffer other complications, such as shrinking of the fat pad of your heel (which is needed for insulation; loss of the fat pad would actually increase your pain) or even rupture of the plantar fascia (in rare instances).

In cases of long-term plantar fasciitis unresponsive to typical treatments, your healthcare provider may recommend that you wear a short walking cast for about three weeks. This ensures that your foot is held in a position that allows the plantar fascia to heal in a stretched, rather than shortened, position.

Finally, if you have heel pain that doesn't improve over a long period of time, or if your heel pain is truly debilitating and interfering with normal activity, your healthcare provider may discuss surgical options with you. The most common surgery is called a plantar fascia release and involves disconnecting the plantar fascia from the heel bone. Plantar fascia release can be performed as a traditional open surgery or as an endoscopic surgery (in which a tiny incision allows a miniature scope to be inserted, through which the surgery is performed). Plantar fascia release surgery is rarely recommended, as there is still some chance that you will continue to have pain after surgery. Furthermore, you may have other complications from surgery, such as a fallen arch in the foot.

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My take is that it is not chronic, but something he will have to deal with for the rest of the season (6 to 12 weeks).

 

[hobie]

Well this time of season MOST NFL'ers are playing with an injury, so he is not the only one..But being a rookie, and this is the longest he's gone, it might effect him a bit more. But, as I stated, most players are playing thru stuff right now, just we don't hear about it..Just hope because the team wants him to play that he has a chance of getting a secondary injury because of it. Sometime not giving all because of an injury will cause another one..hopefully he will say when is when, at the expense of the team that is going nowhere this season, that it might be best to give him some rest...

 

[Texan_Bill]

The only thing that can happen by trying to play through this, is that the condition will cause you to favor that heel. When you favor anything, you put yourself at risk for more devastating injuries, ie knees, ankles and achilles tendons.

Since our record will be what it is, with or without M-A-R-I-O, I say put him on the shelf... Let him rest.

 

[edo783]

Not sure if it's all due to Mario's problem, but the rush was much less prevalent last Sunday than it had been in previouse weeks.

 

[wolfscar]

Despite all that, he was still a force against the run. He was also able to get past the blockers and get pressure on Losman on some occasions, though he couldn't get a sack because Losman got rid of the ball quickly.

There were also several occasions I was looking out for him on the pass rush and his blocker just moved him around so that he had to push off his right foot - there was nothing there. It almost looked like it buckled on him a few times, and he looked to be in a lot of pain on the sidelines.

Credit to him for getting out there and giving it 100% each week, but I'd like to see him rested - at least for a week or two. We're not making it to the playoffs this year and I'd much rather start Babin there for a couple weeks than see Mario snap a tendon or mess up his achilles.

 

[Wolf]

thought y'all would like the photo

here is one for you mario

 

[Roughnecks]

It might be just me but I payed close attention to Mario last week and it seemed like that foot would give out on him sometimes. It wasn't that he slipped but when he engaged the tackle and planted that foot his leg would buckle. I am glad to see him play through it but I hope it does not cause more problems because I would like to see him do his thing for years because he is only going to get better.

 

[wolfscar]

It might be just me but I payed close attention to Mario last week and it seemed like that foot would give out on him sometimes. It wasn't that he slipped but when he engaged the tackle and planted that foot his leg would buckle. I am glad to see him play through it but I hope it does not cause more problems because I would like to see him do his thing for years because he is only going to get better.

That's exactly what I was talking about further up this thread. About half the time he had no power at all coming off that bad foot.

It's a tough situation, because we need a pass rush more than ever right now - seeing as our secondary is so poor - but if there's any risk of his doing himself long term damage I'd rather go with Babin and Peek in his spot and let him rest. The last thing we need is for this to linger into next season.