Should fantasy owners be concerned about Josh Donaldson’s injury?
I think Josh Donaldson may have a future in healthcare as he hit the nail on the head with his self diagnostics. He was quoted as saying “I didn’t feel like I was able to play defense the way I wanted to” and “if I had to try and run or something, it was pretty difficult.”
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With a right calf strain, those two things are exactly what I would be worried about–his defense and his base running. With the injury being to the right calf, which is his non-plant leg for swinging and throwing, I would not worry too much about hitting and throwing. His limitations will primarily be with pushing off of his right leg and tolerating forces that push his ankle into a dorsiflexion motion (toes and foot pointing upward like when you tap your feet).In essence, this will make running and
In essence, this will make running and jumping the most difficult acts for him to tolerate, and he will likely suffer some objective decline in those areas. The good news is that he should still be able to swing the bat with little to no deficit.
The additional good news is that this is one of the injuries that we have all types of ways to immobilize and rest and therefore allow to heal quickly. Donaldson could wear a rocker-bottom shoe or boot on his right foot for a couple days to allow his calf muscle to go on a mini-vacation as the calf is an active participant in walking as it pushes the foot off the ground. A rocker-bottom sole acts like a rocking chair which creates momentum to advance the foot without the calf muscle contracting; therefore allowing the calf to remain at rest. For his return to the field, the training staff could opt to provide him with some type of calf support brace or even utilize Kinesio tape to provide those strained muscle fibers with some additional support.
With all of these factors working in Donaldson’s favor, I would not worry about this injury much. I anticipate that Donaldson is truly day-to-day and will likely be on the field tomorrow or Saturday.
Dr. Eric Petty is a Physical Therapist who is taking his talents from the treatment room to help fantasy owners. You can find more of his work at his site, The Injury Report Doctor, and you can follow him @DrPettyIRD.
