Throughout the month of August, there has been very little news regarding the Flyers. Other than re-signing four of their own prospects, the roster has not changed since the signing of Ole-Kristian Tollefsen July 30th.
Needless to say, it has been a slow month. Unfortunately, the first news to come from the team was that Simon Gagne left Team Canada's Orientation Camp with a right groin and right hip injury.
After having surgery on the hip this summer, Gagne was quick to get off the ice and head home. Initially, it was ruled a minor injury that was nothing to worry about. That no longer seems entirely accurate.
Tim Panaccio revealed today that Gagne has received an injection of Platelet Rich Plasma - PRP. This is a relatively new treatment in sports medicine that has had some encouraging results in other sports, including Hines Ward, Troy Polamalu, and Takashi Saito.
The New York Times had an article on the procedure at the beginning of the year which explained PRP:
The method, which is strikingly straightforward and easy to perform, centers on injecting portions of a patient’s blood directly into the injured area, which catalyzes the body’s instincts to repair muscle, bone and other tissue. Most enticing, many doctors said, is that the technique appears to help regenerate ligament and tendon fibers, which could shorten rehabilitation time and possibly obviate surgery.
In explaining what the surgery does, the article quoted Dr. Allan Mishra:
"It’s a better option for problems that don’t have a great solution — it’s nonsurgical and uses the body’s own cells to help it heal," said Dr. Allan Mishra, an assistant professor of orthopedics at Stanford University Medical Center.
Now, what this means for Simon Gagne isn't yet known. Either Gagne's injury is pretty serious and that's why he elected to use this option, or since he aggravated the region so soon after having surgery on his hip, the team wanted to try this as a precautionary measure. The bottom line though, is that this is something that needs to be closely monitored. Simon's quotes on the matter don't exactly ease any concerns either.
Immediately after the injury: "They don’t think I really hurt myself," Gagne said. "I think it is just tightness that was there a little bit this summer when I started skating. I went to Philly to get it checked again but they said it was normal."
Later in the week: "Sure I have had some problems in the past year with the hip and the groin. But still I am able to play with that kind of pain. Like I said, I am used to it. These types of injuries are not fun to have. Usually I find a way to get through it."
So did Simon really hurt himself, or is it just tightness? The latest quote seems to suggest that he is resigned to having this be a nagging injury throughout the season, but team officials are still telling us not to worry. Are you worried?