Z finished last season playing with ruptured disc

[MYoung23]

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2008/09/james_believes_cavs_have_golde.html

Staying home: Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas was disappointed he was unable to play for Lithuania in the Olympics when insurance issues could not be resolved. As it turned out, it probably was a good thing.

"The postseason physical revealed a ruptured disc in my back," he said. "I was struggling at the end of last season. I was in a lot of pain. I went to Canada and spent time in Vancouver with a back therapist just trying to get better.

"It took me completely off basketball. I didn't touch a basketball until three weeks ago. More than anything, I just wanted to give my body a chance to rest."

 

[Rimage]

Hmm...well, Z needs to be healthy, but I don't like that he hasn't really done anything basketball related for a while. Still, he is a veteran and should be able to recover alright.

 

[Joe Henderson]

that changes my opinon on his olympic plans. he's a warrior and i hope he got himself healthy

 

[Mac]

The lack of respect he gets from some Cavaliers fans is just unacceptable. This guy would run through a wall for Cleveland and there are people that can't stand that he plays for us.

This is why I love this guy as our center. He will try to play no matter what, injured, battle through it, tragedy, battle through it.

That guy is what you should always want in a basketball player, somebody who really loves the game and will play hard consistently to try to win.

This is another reason why we should all be proud to have his jersey hanging in the Q in a couple of years.

 

[Karma]

Just like Mac said so well, Z has gone above and beyond expectations for this franchise. Alot of it goes unnoticed to the average fan. Apart from all the feel good stories and so forth which certain members here just brush off as insignificant, Z has continued to be a top 5 center throughout his career. So if dont care for all the sacrifice he has gone through to be on the court (I know he is paid to do that, but very rarely do they), you have to appreciate what he brings to the floor. Well I guess there are still haters regardless.

 

[Green Lantern]

Hmmm..hopefully that disc is healed..those things don't always go away by themselves..it's another reason a few of us wanted Ferry to get a big to bring in for Z..

 

[ChicagoCavFan]

Vancouver huh?!? Him and his back therapist probably did a LOT of herbal healing.

Good post Mac. Z is a fellow Lithuanian, so I will always be tied to him.

 

[chiefwahoo]

Z is a warrior... athletes like Donte Stallworth should be taking notes on how you actually earn a paycheck in pro sports.

 

[Splitz]

The lack of respect he gets from some Cavaliers fans is just unacceptable. This guy would run through a wall for Cleveland and there are people that can't stand that he plays for us.

This is why I love this guy as our center. He will try to play no matter what, injured, battle through it, tragedy, battle through it.

That guy is what you should always want in a basketball player, somebody who really loves the game and will play hard consistently to try to win.

This is another reason why we should all be proud to have his jersey hanging in the Q in a couple of years.

True, true but it's time now that management find him a replacement so that we can limit the physical toll on him. I would prefer that he take a backup roll very soon for the sake of his own health.

 

[Jon]

Hmmm..hopefully that disc is healed..those things don't always go away by themselves..it's another reason a few of us wanted Ferry to get a big to bring in for Z..

I heard it once explained that if you can deal with the pain the long-term prognosis was just about the same whether you had a disc operated on or just left it alone. Often a ruptured disc causes a pinched nerve and intense pain wherever the nerve goes (often the leg), but not necessarily in the back.

Either way there's no guarantee it'll get better and no guarantee it won't.

Anyway, resting his back should always be a summer priority for Z.

 

[Rick Astley]

Amen Mac, amen!

 

[Douglar]

I heard it once explained that if you can deal with the pain the long-term prognosis was just about the same whether you had a disc operated on or just left it alone. Often a ruptured disc causes a pinched nerve and intense pain wherever the nerve goes (often the leg), but not necessarily in the back.

No kidding. As long as I swim 20 laps a day, I'm fine. If I stop swimming, after a couple months I'll get shooting pains in right knee leg if I hit a pot hole in my car. Nothing's wrong with my knee. It's a buldging disc disc at the L4. But a buldging disc isn't nearly as bad as a ruptured disk and I'm not 7'3" either.

 

[Maximus]

No kidding. As long as I swim 20 laps a day, I'm fine. If I stop swimming, after a couple months I'll get shooting pains in right knee leg if I hit a pot hole in my car. Nothing's wrong with my knee. It's a buldging disc disc at the L4. But a buldging disc isn't nearly as bad as a ruptured disk and I'm not 7'3" either.

Invest in an inversion table.

 

[Man Called X]

Invest in an inversion table.

Or just go to a good chiropractor that doesn't need a gimmicky table to do adjustments.

 

[Douglar]

Or just go to a good chiropractor that doesn't need a gimmicky table to do adjustments.

All the chiropractors I've ever gone to end up being flakey hollistic shamen, asking me if adjusting my neck was making me constipated or helping my vision. Stuff like that which just made it pretty clear that they thought cracking a back was more like fortune telling than physical therapy. Sometimes they helped, sometimes they hurt me, and I don't think they knew what they did differently. The swimming works fine for me right now and it's pretty good cardio too.