next »

[Aileen]

I believe he had about seven massive painkilling injections at the start of the tourney.

He had eight injections before the FO - http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/sport/other-sports/jibes-about-his-back-injury-have-prompted-andy-murray-to-reveal-he-had-eight-pain-killing-injections-ahead-of-the-french-open-1-2373089

I agree Teejay about the erratic nature of Andy's serve.  It wouldn't surprise me in the least if it is the result of his back problem.  I also think that the deterioration of his first serve percentage in the third and fourth sets on Sunday may well have been linked to the bad fall that he took.  He fell on his hip which could well have jarred his back, making it diffiult to push up.  Who could blame him for not saying anything about it after all the flack he took in Paris.

For the avoidance of doubt, I have never once disbelieved that Andy has a genuine and long-standing back problem.  If it involves a lumbar disc, which could be likely since it's a common complaint amongst tennis players due to the twisting motion of the body involved in serving and playing certain shots.  Golfers too are prone to it.

Andy did mention that he'd had an 8" needle inserted into his spine, so I did a bit of research, and found that this is a common procedure for chronic back pain, the needle being inserted into the spinal canal so that the drugs used will be absorbed into the cerebro-spinal fluid.  Also this from http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/directory/s/spinal-injections

Injections into or near your spine help deliver pain-reducing medicines directly to the source of pain and can ease back pain or sciatica (shooting pain down one or both of your legs).  The effects of a successful spinal injection can last up to three months.

There are two medicines used in spinal injections. Local anaesthetic is used to completely block pain from the injected area. Steroids are used to reduce swelling and irritation (inflammation) in the injected area ...

... The local anaesthetic will keep you pain-free for a while, but it's best to take things easy for the first 24 hours. After this, your back may start to feel sore again because the steroids take a few days to work. Your back pain or sciatica should start to improve within a few days of your injection.

You should be able to start physiotherapy within a week of your injection. It's important to remember spinal injections aren’t a cure for back pain and it's the physical therapy that will help improve your medical condition in the long-term.

And this video demonstrates how spinal injections treat back pain - http://video.about.com/backandneck/Spinal-Injections.htm


I'm thinking that all this info should be sent to Andy's detractors, and in particular Wade, Haas and McEnroe.

[Aileen]

Well McEnroe is reported in the Scotland on Sunday article as saying that the back problem was "between the ears", i.e. that it's a psychological rather than a physical thing, which is effectively saying that Andy was either faking it or greatly exaggerating it.  Shame - I used to like McEnroe ...

[Aileen]

Do you seriously think doctors would give someone eight of these injections if the problem was psychosomatic?

[blueberryhill]

I'm sure Andy has a back problem, which is serious in such a young man. But without doubt he does get "tight" and when he does, his first serve stats go right down. It's a good barometer of whether he going to lose a match.
When his serves goes below 50% against the top players, more often than not he'll lose.
That being said, he was much improved this Wimbledon, except, crucially, third set against Fed.

[Ruthie]

It's worrying about the back but at least he has a good physio to work with him and it sounds like the physio is crucial from the quote above.

[teejay1]

I agree Teejay about the erratic nature of Andy's serve.  It wouldn't surprise me in the least if it is the result of his back problem.  I also think that the deterioration of his first serve percentage in the third and fourth sets on Sunday may well have been linked to the bad fall that he took.  He fell on his hip which could well have jarred his back, making it diffiult to push up.  Who could blame him for not saying anything about it after all the flack he took in Paris.

Alis, I wondered about the fall when he landed on his hip too. I actually remember thinking at the time, judging by his expression, that he could have jarred his back. I am awaiting the DVD of the match (assuming I can bear to watch it again!) and I will certainly be looking at the fall to see if it definitely does seem to be linked with his first serve percentage dropping. I wouldn't be at all surprised. Don't get me wrong, I'm not seeking to find a reason for the loss really, but it did make me think.

It seems obvious to me that if Andy did hurt himself (I just wouldn't be surprised, he took so many falls, the one scared the life out of me, how he didn't break his neck I will never know) he wouldn't want to say anything and drag the issue up again. Apart from anything else he would have been accused of being disrespectful to Federer. It would also explain (as if he needed to) why he was so very upset when he lost. I hate to think he could possibly have lost due to any injury, so I have to say I hope it isn't the case. I'm still gutted for him that he lost, that's enough.

 Sure, getting tight doesn't help the first serve either, but I don't know. I just don't remember Andy's first serve being quite as erratic as it has been this year. It either seems to be brilliant, i.e. like in the latter two sets against Cilic when he served like a machine, or he has a tough time getting it to go in. It's such a shame, because it seems so obvious to me that when it does go in the rest of his game flows so beautifully.

The other thing to say as well is that I wonder if Andy has tweaked his serve at all this year, and maybe it is still a work in progress, but I'm not technically minded enough about the game to know.

[Aileen]

It's worrying about the back but at least he has a good physio to work with him and it sounds like the physio is crucial from the quote above.

I think the other important thing is that at least the problem seems to have been identified.  Andy did mention after the AO something about a trapped nerve, yet according to Scotland on Sunday it's a disc problem (although how did they know??).  But why oh why did Andy wait so long before having these injections?  I can understand it up to a point, but the fact is that continuing to play through pain until it became intolerable cost him matches, although it probably did him a big favour when he was forced to pull out of Madrid and its slippery blue clay.

Alis, I wondered about the fall when he landed on his hip too. I actually remember thinking at the time, judging by his expression, that he could have jarred his back. I am awaiting the DVD of the match (assuming I can bear to watch it again!) and I will certainly be looking at the fall to see if it definitely does seem to be linked with his first serve percentage dropping. I wouldn't be at all surprised. Don't get me wrong, I'm not seeking to find a reason for the loss really, but it did make me think.

It seems obvious to me that if Andy did hurt himself (I just wouldn't be surprised, he took so many falls, the one scared the life out of me, how he didn't break his neck I will never know) he wouldn't want to say anything and drag the issue up again. Apart from anything else he would have been accused of being disrespectful to Federer. It would also explain (as if he needed to) why he was so very upset when he lost. I hate to think he could possibly have lost due to any injury, so I have to say I hope it isn't the case. I'm still gutted for him that he lost, that's enough.

 Sure, getting tight doesn't help the first serve either, but I don't know. I just don't remember Andy's first serve being quite as erratic as it has been this year. It either seems to be brilliant, i.e. like in the latter two sets against Cilic when he served like a machine, or he has a tough time getting it to go in. It's such a shame, because it seems so obvious to me that when it does go in the rest of his game flows so beautifully.

The other thing to say as well is that I wonder if Andy has tweaked his serve at all this year, and maybe it is still a work in progress, but I'm not technically minded enough about the game to know.

Oh please!  I swear my heart stopped beating when Andy had that fall.  Yet after the tournament, when he was asked by the interviewer how he felt, he just said he had "a few bruises", although like you I can understand his reluctance to mention anything else.   Also he tweeted the other day that he'd been go-karting competitively (and had won), so hopefully this means that if he did jar his back it was only a temporary thing, although if it did cost him the trophy then that's something I don't care to think about.

If you do manage to watch that bit of the match, it'll be interesting to know what conclusion you reach.

And I do agree about Federer's back, although admittedly he did keep quiet about it for quite a while, but the exact nature of the problem has never been divulged, nor has he been asked to do so by what Scotland on Sunday refers sarcastically to as "the good, the great and those who are merely paid to pontificate". 

I think Haas was just having a dig at Andy for his own benefit - i.e. "look at me, I've played through the pain of injuries", like that's something to be proud of.  Pete Sampras boasted on at least one occasion of how good he was at playing through the pain barrier - but at what expense to his body?  At least Andy has the sense to take care of his, and that's something he should never be made to feel ashamed of.