Surgery won’t help Curry come back faster
SAN FRANCISCO » If Stephen Curry had surgery to fix a fracture on his left hand, he would not return to the court any faster, medical specialists said Thursday.
The Golden Warriors all- star point guard had a CT scan on Thursday to help physicians get a clear picture of the severity of the injury.
“Surgery would not necessarily get him back quicker,” said Dr. Joshua Richards, a hand specialist at Webster Orthopedics in the East Bay. “It would be to realign the bone in a better position.”
Physicians said Curry, 31, a two time NBA most valuable player, should be sidelined no more than two months, with the possibility that he could return to play after four weeks.
Team officials said Thursday that the CT scan would help in making a decision of whether Curry needs to have surgery for the injury he suffered Wednesday night, when the Phoenix Suns’ Aron Baynes, a 6-foot-10, 260-pound center, accidentally fell on him.
Warriors officials have not publicly stated what Curry’s injury might be but said that they hope to have a timetable for treatment by this afternoon. ESPN reported that Curry broke the second metacarpal bone connecting to the index finger of his left hand. Curry is right-handed.
“In the non- shooting hand he’d be able to return six to eight weeks at the worst- case scenario,” said Richards, a clinical assistant professor at UC San Francisco.
“In general, the index metacarpal is a good bone to break if you have to break one,” added Dr. Michelle G. Carlson, a sportsrelated hand and upper extremity surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. “It is a little easier to come back from than the other metacarpals.”
She said it is easier to get motion back in an index finger because the tendons do not run on top of the bone like other metacarpals bones.
Curry suffered the injury in the third quarter Wednesday night at the Chase Center when he attempted to make a layup but fell to the court, getting tangled up with Baynes.
“It was just a random basketball play,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said after the game. “So stuff happens.”
The injury comes at a time the Warriors already do not have guard Klay Thompson (torn anterior cruciate ligament) or center Kevon Looney (a neuropathic condition).
None of the physicians interviewed by this news organization Thursday had first-hand knowledge of Curry’s condition. They discussed hand injuries in general.
Dr. Nirav Pandya, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at UC San Francisco, said physicians use advanced imaging, such as a CT scan, to make sure the fracture does not go into a joint.
“It is the one thing that could complicate things,” Pandya said. “If the break does go into the joints that increases the risk of stiffness and can push you into surgery.”
A CT scan gives physicians a three- dimensional look at an injury whereas an X-ray is two dimensional, Carlson said.
Richards said surgery often is required when the metacarpal bone is moved far out of place or turned where the fingers are crooked. Physicians said surgery could include using pins, a screw along the bone or a plate and screws on top of the bone to stabilize it.
The physicians added that patients do not have many options to heal faster from a broken bone in the hand. Carlson said her medical group sometimes treats athletes with a pulsed ultrasound device that promotes regeneration to help speed up recovery.
“If you can cut a couple of days out it can be helpful,” she said.
Physicians said broken metacarpals generally do not lead to longterm issues. They also said it is doubtful Curry would cause more damage during his rehabilitation.
“The tough thing is going to make sure he is not stiff and he has confidence in hand,” Pandya said. “It is a little easier for a center or power forward to come back because they don’t need that fine motor skill with that hand.”
He added, “For someone like Steph, it’s not whether the bone heals but making sure he can get that mobility and finesse back to his hand fairly quickly.”
Carlson said common treatment generally involves keeping the injured hand elevated to avoid swelling and to begin motion therapy soon after surgery. If surgery is not required, physicians said, the hand needs rest in a cast or splint for up to a month.
Motions exercises include working to straighten the fingers out and making a full fist.
“It gets the tendons gliding over the broken bone so they don’t stick to it,” Carlson said.
Sanjeev Kakar, an orthopedic surgeon who has treated professional basketball players with hand injuries, said it also is important to keep the rest of the body in top shape when recovering. “When it comes to going back to sport, more than being physically and mentally ready, you have to ensure you are game ready,” he said.