Poll:
Your reaction to Oden's injury?
PORTLAND, Ore. -- When Portland Trailblazer center Greg Oden crumpled to the hardwoods Saturday night, it was another painful moment for Oden, his fans and the franchise.
Oden missed his entire rookie season after micro-fracture surgery to his knee.
He missed 20 games in his second season because of foot and knee injuries.
And now, in his third season, he’s broken part of his left knee and is out for the rest of the year.
What’s happening here?
Is he the victim of bad luck? Or is he pushing his huge body to more than its capable of doing?
Richard Crokin is chiropractor who treats sports injuries in Southwest Portland. He has not seen Oden but believes the big man is playing within his limits.
“I do not think that Greg Oden is too big to play the way he does,” said Crokin.
But he notes that over time all big men have more stress on their bodies.
“Typically as we get bigger, our mass is going to be heavier,” said Crokin.
“So all things being equal with the same amount of gravity, a larger person with larger body mass being heavier will have significantly more stress on their frame,” he said.
In Portland, Pearl District Dr. Robert Ciprian is not surprised to hear of Oden’s injury.
Dr. Ciprian is a practitioner of holistic medicine and applied kinesiology. He studies how the body moves. While he has not treated Oden, he expected a knee injury.
“I saw a picture of Oden and I could see the structure of his knee and hip,” said Dr. Ciprian. "I saw the posture of it and just knew in the future, from looking at the posture and the way the muscles werer balanced that he would be in trouble with that knee in the future."
He also believes Oden is playing with in the limits of his body -- but thinks his muscles need a tune up.
"I don't necessarily think he's too big to be playing-- it's just his biomechanics aren't right. The problem isn't his size -- just his muscles aren't turning off properly when he runs."
