Twins consulting other doctors about Mauer; Opening Day uncertain
Posted on March 11th, 2009 – 6:38 PMBy Joe Christensen
FORT MYERS, FLA. — The Twins are consulting other doctors about the latest test results on Joe Mauer’s lower back, and General Manager Bill Smith could not say for certain Wednesday night that the catcher will be ready for the April 6 season opener.
“I don’t know that it is in question; I don’t know that it isn’t in question,” Smith said, briefing reporters.
Mauer had dye injected into his back Tuesday for a magnetic resonance arthrogram, which showed inflammation of the right sacroiliac joint, according to the Twins.
The sacroiliac joint, or SI joint, connects the spine to the pelvis, and the Twins said Mauer has been bothered with pain in that area when he runs.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said earlier Wednesday that the Twins would take a more aggressive course with medication to treat the inflammation, but Smith said that will depend on the team’s consultation with other doctors.
Smith said Mauer would continue doing his core strength training, while the other doctors study his test results and help the Twins form a plan.
“We are going to look at possibly changing to a different medicine,” Smith said. “They have been treating the SI joint. They’re in the right spot, but it’s too early to tell. I hate to say it. Everyone wants an answer now.”
Asked for a timetable, Smith said, “I can’t give you a timetable when the doctors are going to talk.”
Smith did say the Twins don’t believe Mauer’s current back pain is related to his Dec. 22 surgery to remove a kidney obstruction.
“I do not believe that this is kidney related,” Smith said. ”This is the SI joint. The surgery was definitely for his health, not his playing.”
Mauer was at Twins camp on Wednesday but told a team spokesman he would prefer to get more information before commenting.
I’ll have more on this for first editions.
40 Responses to "Twins consulting other doctors about Mauer; Opening Day uncertain"
Thanks for the update Joe. Hopefully Mauer will be feeling better soon.
The more I read about Mauer’s injury, the more I think he will be playing somewhere else on the field at Target Field. I want him to play as long as posible behind the plate, but i am starting to get comvinced that he is just too big/tall to catch. This does not seem like a common injury and being the non-doctor that I am, I tend to think that playing catcher is not only hard on a players knees, but also his back, especially the lower back. Perhaps it is especially hard on taller players who play catcher. Just speculating here, but I suspect there will be more consideration givin to moving Mauer to third base or somewhere other than catcher.
And with Morales and Ramos playing well in spring training, it could work out to be a good organization move as well.
The Twins are consultingother doctors
my assumption here is that “other” means somebody else than John Steubs. Is this correct? This issue seems orthopedic (and not kidney-related), so I suspect that they might be consulting additional orthopedics. There is a slight problem with this: this is a pretty much garden variety condition (as described) so the need for consultation is a bit puzzling (unless it is for a medical regiment that would not affect his kidneys, and good ol’ cortisone would still be the number one recommendation for that last time I looked at the Merck manual…)
I would certainly hope they don’t consider a position change. A bad back is a bad back. Doesn’t matter where you’re playing. Unless you dh, and then you still have to run.
Also, was the original diagnosis in December for the kidney obstruction wrong? or at least incomplete? Starting to think something more is up here - especially when you consider the recent history of the Twins & injuries.
163+
was the original diagnosis in December for the kidney obstruction wrong?
No
the guy had surgery and fixed it…
here is the thing with his back issue:
he had muscles cut in his abdomen (belly/stomach/whatever) to fix it during this surgery. This causes pain in the “front”, so he put stress on his back to do his day to day stuff. (same thing happens with people who are overweight and/or have underdeveloped abs) Magnify that with having to be an athlete in spring training and it makes sense. He’ll be fine.
I hope he will be fine as well.
That siad, he went to see the doctor at the end of last year for persistant back problems. They found the kidney problem, and said “That must be it”. Now, Joe still has the back problem and they find an inflammed SI joint. They haven’t siad how long it has been inflamed, or can they even tell. I agree that they did discover the kidney issue and fixed it - which needed to be fixed, but it is possible that what caused pain last year, had nothing to do with his kidney issue.
This is odd:
When Michael Johnson set the World’s Record for the 200 meter in the Olympics, he needed repeated adjustment of his sacroiliac joint because of pain.
This was in Sport’s Illustrated.
SI writing about SI joints I guess.
Mauer should be in physical therapy (if he’s not already)! I’m a PT, and my profession knows a lot more about conservative management of SI problems than an orthopedic surgeons do.
Dr John Stuebs - That is fantastic!!!
Joe is a great kid but he is as soft as church music
Man there is a lot of qualified people to comment on this.
elaine,
I agree with you 100%. The only surgical solution to the SI problem is re-engineering the joint with nuts and bolts. This might really be good for an arthritic overweight 70some year old, but for a 20 something athlete, it ain’t…
Whitey, what an ignorant thing to say. You are not Joe and you don’t know how painful it is.
elaine! I’m with you! I’m also a PT, we see SI problems all the time, we can help you without surgery Joe! See a PT please, for all those Twins loving PTs out there!
Nora-have you seen the movie Unbreakable-Joe is Samuel Jackson of that movie.
whitey is an albino rat.
Elaine,
Come down off your high horse for a minute to talk with the rest of us common folk. Are you really stating that you, a physical therapist, knows more than a doctor who went through 8 years med school? I don’t trust your opinion much at all.
Much depends on whether the inflammation is a sprain or a strain of the affected tissue. The MRI might not show enough detail to determine the extent of a possible tear in the tissue encasing the joint capsule. It would make a difference in recovery time. Either way, one would think the injury would resolve, but recovery might take him beyond opening day. Bum deal for Joe Mauer and the Twins.
Elaine said that PTs know a lot more than orthopedic surgeons about CONSERVATIVE management of SI problems. I don’t know Elaine but I think that statement has a lot of truth in it. But a good doc will refer for PT before trying more invasive procedures. I’d actually be surprised if Mauer doesn’t get some PT in addition to the anti-inflammatories. Although I suppose they may rely mostly on the training staff.
I think the media, and Twins fans in generall are making a too big of a deal of this. His back injury is NOT carear threatining in anyway whatsoever, and the worst case scenerio is that Mauer will miss the first week maybe two of the 162 game season just for being a little sore. It is no big deal.
Elaine,
I agree with you, I also think I know better than someone who had to be smart enough to finish in the top 5% of her inorganic chemistry (1 year), organic chemistry (1 year), physics(1 year), biology(1 year), biochemistry, calculus(1 year), and other classes (ones in which students are usually smart pre-med students, of which most drop out later after they realize what they are undertaking), finish in the top group of Medical College Admissions Test takers, and then if they got into medical school at all, finish at the top tier of their medical school class. Yeah, I too know better than someone who put in 14 years of training (4 college + 4 med school + 5 surgery residency + 1 usual year for fellowship). Yes, I’m just going to assume the orthopedic surgeon is a close minded bufoon and just does like a dumb monkey what he was trained to do, while you have the nuances of sacroiliac strain (as apposed to infectious sacroilitis, sacroiliac fracture, spondylolysis, discitis, radiculpathies, piriformis syndrome or a dozen other possibilities) all down pat. because you took a few courses. i’m with you as you trash other professions in your ignorance,
or maybe not…
Who’s softer?
Joe Mauer
or
Marian Gaborik
Why don’t they perform a SI joint injection with steroid. Quick resolution to the pain.
wow…the trolls only come out at night I guess.
T, why be so hard on yourself?
All this chatter for a measly SI joint inflammation. You people need to settle down. I’ve had problems with the SI on my right side for years, and the way to alleviate the pain is to strengthen your core, watch your body mechanics and take a few ibuprofens when the pain gets annoying. I know my SI got worse when I hyperextended my back, while playing sports and lifting incorrectly, stuff like that. There’s not much MDs can do at this point, other than prescribe meds and repeat what I’ve said here. PTs can probably help Joe to a greater extent going forward…
[…] Around the Majors – […]
I know…let’s all talk out our asses, pretending we have some relavant insight into Joe Mauer’s back issues.
hey Thry
didn’t they operate on the kidneys through the back? that’s usually the preferred route. less to go through that is.
Actually Elaine could be quite right. Orthopedic surgeons are frequently outside of the loop on physical therapy, as their occupation only requires a “philosophy” of PT, not to mention they themselves are not PTs.
A good physical therapist really has a different skill set than a surgeon, and is always up-to-date with the latest methods both in theory and practice. Physical therapy, NOT surgery, is often the best route to take, in which case the PT is the expert.
The kind of rant I just read from Danimals really bothers me. You know what Danimals, you´re the best. Way to go brotha! You just crushed a massive foul ball. Idiot.
Idiot. It is the job of the physical therapist to do physical therapy,
[…] activities relatively soon if he responds well to stronger medication. However, he’s certainly far from out of the woods in terms of being healthy for Opening Day and the back problems could linger.Mauer has experienced […]
[…] in efforts to build arm strength, hoping to go three innings against the Yankees on Sunday. Joe Christensen notes that Opening Day is not a given for Joe Mauer. The Twins will be consulting more doctors […]
msm,
the back is the preferential entry site for ureteropelvic junction obstruction laparoscopic surgery where the abdomen is the preferential entry site for ureterovesical junction obstruction laparoscopic surgery. He had the latter apparently, since La Velle mentioned that they came in through the “stomach”
Anybody see the article about MLB investigating what could be 42 cases of players from the Dominican lying about their ages?
I’m glad this is finally happening, I can’t imagine teams are too happy when they find out the guy that just signed that multi-year deal is 2-3 years older than they originally claimed.
Also of note, Henry Blanco with a homer and key defensive play to help Venezuela beat the US. Forget Pudge…THAT’S who we should be getting!
i see that joe c’s branch of the mayo clinic is open again!
im glad to see mauer is back to his 07 form getting hurt all of the time and being a big baby. good luck twins.
RYEMAN:
Sorry Ryeman, I’m with Danimals on this one. I’m not going to consult a physical therapist for medical advise. If my Doctor recommends one, that’s different. I would ask Medschoolmatt for his opinion, but he seems to be having trouble figuring out where the kidneys are or something, I don’t know(LOL), so I better wait about 10 years (and a half million dollars) ’til he graduates.
danimals….
the PT profession has greatly changed since you crawled out from under that rock. It’s currently a DPT….the D stands for DOCTORATE. So, new grads need a BS degree, usually one in the sciences, so they’ve taken all those undergrad classes you’ve rattled off. And then….a little known secret, it’s harder to get into PT school, especially at the U, maybe 200 applicants for 50 spots. 1/4 in for all you math whizzes. Then (at the U) you get to take a few classes with the genius med school students, who we usually score higher than in the muscle/bone sections of the class. Most MDs don’t have any clue what a PT can do, as do most layman (proven true by you). I’m not saying that we know more about surgical management…but we know a lot more about conservative management including exercises. Give PT a chance, we may change your mind. PS, we also have a thorough education on noon-musculoskeletal problems and know when to refer back to the godly MD when necessary.
