Soobum Im, USA TODAY Sports
The Lakers announced on Thursday night that Steve Nash would miss the entire upcoming NBA season due to nerve damage in his back. Nash has struggled with nerve pain throughout his career, playing in only a fraction of games last season and missing games periodically throughout his career.
So what exactly is wrong with him? According to ACSM spokesperson Stephen Rice, a Clinical Professor, Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Director of Jersey Shore Sports Medicine Center, it’s a problem that smaller NBA players are prone to because of the jumping, running and contact that comes with playing in the league.
“He probably has a disc-related problem and it’s leaning on the nerves and that’s causing either pain or causing weakness,” he said.
Every person has discs that fit between the vertebrae in their back that serve as the cushions (for the vetebrae) and when they’re healthy they can absorb a lot of shock that allow you to run and jump without discomfort. But as people get older, whether basketball players or not, they begin to lose elasticity.
“That’s when you have the discs hanging out where they don’t belong,” Rice said “(And) … that’s when you get into situation when you start to feel pain or irritation.”
Younger players, said Rice, would be more likely to be able to rehab quickly — as Nash likely did when he was younger. But in addition to nerve and back pain being not uncommon for anyone at 40, the NBA game and lifestyle makes players more susceptible, Rice said.
“They’re playing three nights a week … that’s a lot of travel, that’s a lot of air planes, a lot of sleeping in unfamiliar beds sitting in airports,” he said. “It’s not a stress-free job and plus there’s a lot of (contact) — there’s charges, there’s collisions, there’s getting fouled when you go in for a layup. So he’s just at a point where he’s worn down.”
The nerve damage could be healed with rest or possibly even surgery, which Nash may opt for even if he decides to retire.
If Nash does want to continue playing, it’s possible, Rice said that after a year off the nerve damage would heal enough to allow him to do so. He pointed to Alex Rodriguez as someone who was out for a year and might come back with a healed hip and a better game than before he was suspended.
“Here’s a guy who’s very competitive and he doesn’t want to go out this way … I wouldn’t put it past him,” he said of Nash. “But again if you try to measure him against what he was when he was young he’s not going to be as fast but he is going to be as smart and is that enough?”