Sad story of Yao Ming's left foot

By Sportswriter Wu Junkuan

BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The 40-year-old Shaquille O'Neal, who retired from NBA in June, up-loaded a twitter video last week to invite the 30-year-old Yao Ming, who is reportedly retiring from the league, to go on vacation.

"I'm going to miss you bro," O'Neal said in the video message. "You're one of the greatest players to come out of China. One of the greatest players, period. I'm going to miss you brother.

"Enjoy your time, let's go on vacation bro, me and you."

Yao and O'Neal are both among the league's most outstanding centers in the past decade. Yao, who will turn 31 this September, is more fortunate because he has 10 more years to enjoy his time off the court. Or, he is less fortunate, because he has 10 less years to stay on the court.

Why does Yao plan to retire early?

Since Yao moved to the NBA as the overall top pick in the 2002 draft, his nine-year stint with Houston Rockets, especially his last six seasons, was plagued with a series of injuries and surgeries - the bone spur in his left foot and osteomyelitis in the big toe of the left foot in 2005, the broken bone in his left foot and right knee in 2006, the stress fracture in his left foot in 2008, the hairline fracture in his left foot in 2009 and the stress fracture in his left ankle in 2010.

During the 2008-2009 season, Yao was diagnosed with a sprained ankle in the second round series against the Los Angeles Lakers. After he underwent surgery to repair the broken bone in his left foot, Duan Guihua, a Chinese sports medicine specialist said: "The fact that Yao Ming suffered with frequent injuries shows his previous surgeries were not truly successful. There will be little chance for Yao to fully recover. I am afraid he will be injured again soon."

Duan's worry proved to be right. After Yao was ruled out for the entire 2009-2010 season, the Rockets limited Yao to no more than 24 minutes a game for the 2010-2011 season, with no plan to play him on back-to-back nights. Their goal was to keep Yao healthy in the long term. However, Yao only played five matches before sustaining a stress fracture in his left ankle, which led to his decision to quit professional basketball.

During his NBA career Yao received a series of big surgeries to his left foot. All the screws placed in his foot to strengthen the bones could weigh over 500 grams. His fragile feet just could not withstand the pounding of the NBA game over the long haul.

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5) Probably, pain pills are highly addictive. I think surgery would be more beneficial now, than popping her full of pain killersThe sesamoid bones of the first metatarsal of the foot. This area is beneath the pad on the foot just proximal (closer to the ankle) to the big toe. These two bones serve to protect the tendon that flexes the toe, by protecting it from the body’s weight.

Nonsurgical Treatment Doctors prefer to begin with nonsurgical treatment. Your doctor may recommend treating the inflammation and pain of sesamoiditis with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin and ibuprofen. Special padding in the shape of a J can be placed inside your shoe to ease pressure on the sesamoids as you stand and walk. You may need to limit the amount of weight placed on your foot when you’re up and about. Shoes with low heels may also ease the pressure. Occasionally, doctors inject steroid medication into the soft tissues around the sesamoids to decrease the inflammation

Some doctors place a patient with a fracture in a cast for about six weeks. Afterward, the patient must wear a stiff-soled shoe until the pain goes away. The stiff sole of the shoe keeps the toe steady and prevents it from bending while you walk. Other doctors prefer not to cast fractures. Instead, they have their patients wear a stiff-soled shoe right away.

Stress fractures are a bit more complicated. If a stress fracture doesn’t heal, it becomes a nonunion fracture, an extremely painful condition that can cause significant disability. If the problem isn’t better in eight to 12 weeks, surgery may be needed to remove the pieces of unhealed bone. To avoid the problems of a nonunion fracture, some doctors use a cast and require patients to avoid putting any weight on the foot for up to eight weeks.

Surgery Your surgeon may recommend removing part or all of the sesamoid bone. When bone is removed from only one sesamoid, the other sesamoid bone can still provide a fulcrum point for the toe flexors. However, if both of the bones are taken out, the toe flexors lose necessary leverage and can’t function. When this happens, the big toe will either bend up like a claw or slant severely toward the second toe. Thus, surgeons usually try to avoid taking both sesamoids out.

When a sesamoid bone is fractured in a sudden injury, surgery may be done to remove the broken pieces. To remove the sesamoid on the inside edge of the foot, an incision is made along the side of the big toe. The soft tissue is separated, taking care not to damage the nerve that runs along the inside edge of the big toe. The soft tissues enclosing the sesamoid are opened, and bone is removed. The tissues next to the sesamoid are stitched up. Then the soft tissues are laid back in place, and the skin is sewed together.

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