Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Nathan Horton has been diagnosed with degeneration of the entire lumbar region of his spine and his career could be in jeopardy, The Columbus Dispatch reported Tuesday.
Quote:
Reporter Aaron Portzline cited sources who said surgery has not been scheduled or ruled out but is viewed as a last resort.
I feel really bad for the guy. 29 is very young to be having severe spinal issues. It wouldn't surprise me if this comes down to a decision to try and preserve as much quality of life as possible going forward. Wouldn't be shocked if he never plays again.
As an aside, Columbus cannot seem to catch a break.
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Any kind of spinal degeneration at 29 is a big deal. Pretty hard to do that unless you are completely abusing your spine on a regular basis.
Degeneration is a bit of a generic term. If it's run of the mill osteoarthritis due to wear and tear, then there's no way it should keep him from playing. If it's disc degeneration then it's likely impinging on his spinal cord and causing all kinds of motor and sensation problems in his legs. Cox flexion/distraction therapy or spinal decompression is all you can do to manage it conservatively, and it takes a long time to recover. Failing that, laminectomy and fusion is necessary and he may never be cleared to play a rough contact sport like hockey after that.
Still, if Gary Roberts can come back and have a long career after a surgery like that, then Horton should be able to as well. Best of luck to him.
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I had a family member with similar back problems and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It is daily suffering and even the strongest medications don not help a lot (and are quite dangerous as well).
Back when Horton was playing in Florida, he was one of my favourite young players. It is a shame that injuries plagued him so much.
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I feel really bad for the guy. 29 is very young to be having severe spinal issues. It wouldn't surprise me if this comes down to a decision to try and preserve as much quality of life as possible going forward. Wouldn't be shocked if he never plays again.
As an aside, Columbus cannot seem to catch a break.
Not that you'd expect his career to end, but the contract was questioned from the get-go due to how broken down Horton was before he signed it. They took a big risk on the contract and it isn't paying off. But its not something that is coming out of the blue.
Not that you'd expect his career to end, but the contract was questioned from the get-go due to how broken down Horton was before he signed it. They took a big risk on the contract and it isn't paying off. But its not something that is coming out of the blue.
it was definitely a risk, but IIRC it was a shoulder injury back then that needed surgery, not the back.
This is what's going on in my neck. I'd say retire while you can wall
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Thank you for everything CP. Good memories and thankful for everything that has been done to help me out. I will no longer take part on these boards. Take care, Go Flames Go.
I believe Friedman hinted at this a couple of weeks ago in his 30 thoughts. Sad news for Horton. Hopefully he gets the correct treatment so he can live his life pain free. Forget about returning to hockey right now and just worry about quality of life.
what an absolutely stupid thing to say... but yes, best of luck to Horton........scary
What?
I'm saying that tanking for draft picks is a bad plan because injuries may derail a promising career, as they did with Nathan. You just can't hope that one guy you pick becomes the savior of your franchise.
I'm saying that tanking for draft picks is a bad plan because injuries may derail a promising career, as they did with Nathan. You just can't hope that one guy you pick becomes the savior of your franchise.
There's a lot of conversation around here about drafting high this year. Heard of these McDavid and Eichel guys? A lot of talk about them recently, and that winning hockey games is not in our best interests. A lot of suggestion that other teams, like Buffalo and Carolina, have purposely gutted their rosters this year.
I'm saying its a bad move to rely on high picks too much, in part because they could struggle with injuries their entire career, and you potentially waste a season.
There's a lot of conversation around here about drafting high this year. Heard of these McDavid and Eichel guys? A lot of talk about them recently, and that winning hockey games is not in our best interests. A lot of suggestion that other teams, like Buffalo and Carolina, have purposely gutted their rosters this year.
I'm saying its a bad move to rely on high picks too much, in part because they could struggle with injuries their entire career, and you potentially waste a season.
Comprende?
You don't have to act defensive when you're explaining. It wasn't immediately obvious what point you were trying to make in the first place and while the first response was rude, the follow up questions weren't made by the same person.
Nathan Horton's career may be in jeopardy
