Caron is out for the season...hold that thought.

-Mavericks forward Caron Butler underwent surgery today to repair a ruptured right patellar tendon. The surgery was performed by team physician Dr. T.O. Souryal at Texas Sports Medicine. He is expected to miss the remainder of the season.  -Associated Press 01/04/2011

          Did you catch the word "expected"?  Most people with a full rupture of the pateller tendon will undergo surgery and will require many months of post-op rehabilitation.  Caron Butler doesn't follow what is "expected".  He's trying to make his Mavs comeback in remarkable time; the playoffs are his goal.

          Let's first break down the injury.  The pateller tendon is a strong, fibrous, cartilaginous band that inserts on the lower leg bone called the tibial tuberosity and originates at the apex of the patella. Clinically, it should be called a ligament because it attaches a bone to bone, whereas a tendon attaches muscles to bones.  However, because the patella is a sesamoid bone, literally meaning "a bone impacted in a tendon" and it isn't a typical attachment, it is named a tendon. 



Pateller Tendon- taste like chicken

The tendon involved is crucial in athletes for running, planting, and specifically making dynamic movements like jumping.  Most injuries to the patellar tendon are caused by overuse, disease state, or acute injury.  A full rupture is when the tendon separates and retracts. In Caron Butler's case, open-repair involving an incision anterior to the tendon and suturing the dense, strong tendon back together was necessary.  Normally, acute phase post-operative rehabilitation starts very slowly until swelling, pain, and edema substantially improve.  As the acute stage passes and more stability is quantified, gradual progression of range of motion, braced weight bearing excercise, and passive therapies are incorporated, moving toward more active exercises in assisted, and then unassisted weight bearing rehab. 

         

"Normal routine." 

"Stage-to-stage progression." 

"Time will heal." 

These are just nice cliche's to Caron. He has done the rehab with Texas Sports Medicine, at the AAC facilities, and at home.  His daily self imposed, 7-day-a-week rehab schedule might be pushing the limits but to him, its deadline time.  In less than 100 days he hopes to back on the court.  In dealing with athletes, you can't tell them to rest, that this may be the end, that it might not work out.  It only pushes them, improves them, and keeps them fighting to get back on the field, mat, or court.  100 days would be record time to be running the planks of the AAC with the rest of the boys, pushing towards a deep run in playoffs.  The Mavs are finally getting healthy and if Caron can dress for the playoffs, he would shatter most peoples expectations. He has been nicknamed "Tuff Juice" because of his fearless play.  Its seems to Caron, that injury, rehab, and trials are part of the job and nothing is too tough for him.  He expects them and is over-coming.      

So, can Caron really return?  He's not listening to anyone saying he can't...