Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
February 19, 2008
Poor Blood Flow

Another ballplayer suffers circulatory problems:

Left-hander John Rheinecker will miss at least the first half of the season, and it may leave the Rangers without a second left-handed reliever ahead of the closer.

Rheinecker was diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, a condition that limits blood flow to the extremities. It is the same condition that wrecked third baseman Hank Blalock's 2007 season. The Rangers expect Rheinecker to have surgery to remove the top rib, as Blalock did, in order to improve blood flow.

"Pretty much every symptom I described, the doctor said was on the list," Rheinecker said. "Hopefully once I get back from this, I'll be the pitcher the Rangers traded for."

It seems there are a number of players who suffer from blood flow problems. Oil Can Boyd, David Cone and Kip Wells immediately come to mind. I wonder how much this occurs in the general population.


Posted by David Pinto at 09:05 PM | Illnesses | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Kenny Rogers, too.

Posted by: jb at February 19, 2008 09:41 PM

And of course Terry Francona.

I often wonder things like that too... if I had a professional medical/training staff looking after me like I was worth $10 million a year to their employers, I wonder how many conditions they would notice I had that an average joe (such as what I truly am) would simply ignore?

Posted by: Mike at February 19, 2008 11:06 PM

That does seem a bit odd with the number of players reporting blood flow problems. And to remove a rib to improve it doesn't sound pleasant. Maybe it's similar to the enlarged heart problem that so many athletes have in many sports.

Posted by: dbacksbuzz at February 19, 2008 11:43 PM

Isn't this the problem that ended Whitey Ford's career? Caused by an overdeveloped muscle?

Posted by: captcrisis at February 20, 2008 06:21 AM

I've got news for you - pitching is really bad for your arm - pitchers at every level of baseball are pitching with some level of soreness, tightness, stiffness, 'dead arm' from about the second start of the season until the end of the year. That's why they have throwing day between starts. You have to get loose enough so you can go out for your next start.

Posted by: Bandit at February 20, 2008 08:22 AM

It seems like removing a rib is an extremely drastic measure to take. It's not like this condition isn't reversible.

Posted by: sabernar at February 20, 2008 09:43 AM
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