News: Cowboys Injured Reserve Players: Getting Them Healthy May Be Third Leg In Building 2016 Roster

[Doc50]

I think it's a challenge to be sure, but I wouldn't limit my research strictly to steroids. I think plenty of supplements qualify. I think guys can max out their bodies with creatine, huge amounts of protein, and tons of supplements. And while that adds muscle, I think a guy's natural genetics determine a great deal in terms of his bones, joints, and ligaments holding up.

Take a player like Sean Lee for example. I'm obviously not saying he's taking steroids, but I see him as an example of a naturally average to smaller guy who has maxed out his potential in every way he can. But underneath, he's still a 180lb guy with those genetics. And in my own opinion, that goes a long way toward his injury history.

Creatine, protein, and supplements do not add significant muscle mass unless the supplements contain steroid or HGH analogs (which are common). If those substances are present, then one may experience consequences including thinning of bones, weakening of connective tissue, testicular atrophy, hair loss, prostatic hypertrophy, impotence, gynecomastia (breast enlargement in men), liver disease, acne, hypertension, atherosclerotic vascular disease, and psychosis.

Separately, moderate to high use of creatine has been shown to cause liver disease.

 

[Stash]

Creatine, protein, and supplements do not add significant muscle mass unless the supplements contain steroid or HGH analogs (which are common). If those substances are present, then one may experience consequences including thinning of bones, weakening of connective tissue, testicular atrophy, hair loss, prostatic hypertrophy, impotence, gynecomastia (breast enlargement in men), liver disease, acne, hypertension, atherosclerotic vascular disease, and psychosis.

Separately, moderate to high use of creatine has been shown to cause liver disease.

 

[Hawkeye19]

I waiting on seeing Ryan Russell

 

[Redball Express]

Several of the players on this list have a history of injury. Not just freak bad luck last season.

And I think anyone willing to count on theses players to suddenly reverse that trend is kidding themselves.

Romo is obviously coming back, but he's missed time over the past several seasons, and at age 36, that's unlikely to change. Simply hoping that he stays healthy is foolish and the team absolutely has to have a reliable plan for 2016 and the future.

Terrell McClain has missed more games than he's played. To rely on this leopard to suddenly change his spots would be another mistake. He should be lucky to be brought to training camp this year.

Lance Dunbar has gotten hurt every time the team has played him. It's obvious that he's not made to handle the rigors of the NFL game. Between injury history and his limitations as an actual running back, he's a luxury player this team can no longer afford.

I think any mindset of getting perpetually injured players back with the hopes that somehow this will be the year they stay healthy is a recipe for disaster.

True.

It would be a luxury to have these guys healthy and play an entire season..

I don't see it happening either.

I like Scandrick but if he really is our best DB..

I think we are in much worst shape than any of us know in the defensive backfield.

Jones helps alot.

And Carr and Claiborne need to be replaced.

So unless we draft high at the position I don't see much changing.

Its been a disaster eversince Zimmer left.

They drafted Roy Williams, Terrence Newman and signed FAs from Cleveland and drafted Claiborne and signed Carr.

We just don't seem to have the players for our schemes or we don't have the schemes for the players.

Its clearly a coaching problem to me.

We had the same problem at OL for the longest time until we spent the #1s on it.

Is this going to be the same answer for DB?

 

[Rockport]

I've been assured by a poster on here that injuries played little to no part in us falling from a contender to being 4-12. He's super smart.

There are a lot of football ignorant posters here. The majority actually.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

You bring up an interesting question, Stash. Is it possible that a recurrent injury scenario is predictable, related to some known variable?

While some "big-boned" athletes have seemed to be indestructible, it's obvious that some of the thinner guys will not stand as much punishment, and that is typically considered. But injury history both good and bad has seemed rather random and difficult to predict.

What I propose, is that there will be a direct correlation between NFL injuries and prior steroid use, even if it ended in high school, but especially if it continued through college. NFL testing detects most of these agents now, and current use has therefore declined. A landmark study of retired NFL players that was done in 2009 showed very positive correlation to steroid use and injuries; many of the subjects in question used PED's fairly consistently through their careers (before the advent of effective testing).

In Texas, all high school athletes are routinely tested as part of a comprehensive UIL program, but it's quite frankly a waste of time and money.
I'm aware of several HS football programs in which PED use is rampant, but testing isn't random or spontaneous enough to confirm that. The physiologic changes that occur in bones and connective tissue are well-documented, and they are likely to have more long-term effects than previously thought. The age that one starts anabolic steroids is also quite significant in predicting negative outcomes.

The problem is that there is currently no way of ascertaining the amount and duration of previous PED use. The only way to assure less injuries and more safety is to modify the UIL program, not scrap it, as some have proposed.

Within the field of sports-injury genetics, some studies have focused on variations in the genes that control the production of collagen, the main component of tendons and ligaments. Collagen proteins also form the backbone of tissues and bones, but in some people, structural differences in these proteins may leave the body’s structures weaker or unable to repair themselves properly after injury. In a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2009, South African researchers found that specific variations of a collagen gene named COL1A1 were under-represented in a group of recreational athletes who had suffered traumatic ACL injuries. Those who had torn their ACL were four times as likely as the uninjured study subjects to have a blood relative who had suffered the same injury, suggesting that genetics are at least partially responsible for the strength of the ligament.

The same COL1A1 gene has also been linked to other soft-tissue injuries, like Achilles-tendon ruptures and shoulder dislocations. In a review article that combined the results of multiple studies on the COL1A1 gene, published in theBritish Journal of Sports Medicine in 2010, researchers concluded that those with the TT genotype—one of three potential variants of the gene, found only in 5 percent of the population—are extremely unlikely to suffer a traumatic ligament or tendon injury.

However, because of the vast complexity of the human genome, it’s highly improbable that a single variant within a gene can determine a person’s genetic risk for a given soft-tissue injury. Researchers agree it’s much more likely that these injuries, like complex conditions such as obesity or type 2 diabetes, are influenced by multiple genes.


The COL5A1 gene, another one associated with collagen production, has been linked to a higher risk of injury of the ACL and Achilles tendon, as well as greater susceptibility to exercise-induced muscle cramping. A 2013 study in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine found that specific variants of COL5A1 were strongly correlated with muscle cramping among runners in the Two Oceans Marathon in South Africa.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/02/the-genetics-of-being-injury-prone/385257/

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Going in with Weeden and the rest of our skill position depth, DL and secondary depth is what it is.

The roster was poorly constructed because it was so thin going into TC.

Jerry Jones puts together his rosters like Bob Bass used to. Respectable starters and no depth. It bears out in draft practice where they trade up far more often than down to make sure they get their stars.

 

[Doc50]

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/02/the-genetics-of-being-injury-prone/385257/

Yeah, the multiple genetic influences of collagen formation are beginning to show promise for durability prediction. There is currently no objective evaluation for tendon and ligament strength, but bone strength is routinely measured via density. There is also no known medication to strengthen connective tissue, but bone density can be improved by several different therapies.

This general evaluation and treatment is likely to be the future standard rather than genetic evaluation, due to privacy and ethical issues.
Eventually, genetic engineering may be an option for serious disorders. I can also envision parents testing their kids, deciding if they're at risk in specific activities.

 

[CCBoy]

True.

It would be a luxury to have these guys healthy and play an entire season..

I don't see it happening either.

I like Scandrick but if he really is our best DB..

I think we are in much worst shape than any of us know in the defensive backfield.

Jones helps alot.

And Carr and Claiborne need to be replaced.

So unless we draft high at the position I don't see much changing.

Its been a disaster eversince Zimmer left.

They drafted Roy Williams, Terrence Newman and signed FAs from Cleveland and drafted Claiborne and signed Carr.

We just don't seem to have the players for our schemes or we don't have the schemes for the players.

Its clearly a coaching problem to me.

We had the same problem at OL for the longest time until we spent the #1s on it.

Is this going to be the same answer for DB?

I think that realistic alternatives will be in free agency this year, and with age that still warrants a strong contract.

I liken Claiborne's retention, myself.

 

[CCBoy]

Yeah, the multiple genetic influences of collagen formation are beginning to show promise for durability prediction. There is currently no objective evaluation for tendon and ligament strength, but bone strength is routinely measured via density. There is also no known medication to strengthen connective tissue, but bone density can be improved by several different therapies.

This general evaluation and treatment is likely to be the future standard rather than genetic evaluation, due to privacy and ethical issues.
Eventually, genetic engineering may be an option for serious disorders. I can also envision parents testing their kids, deciding if they're at risk in specific activities.

Good stuff here, Doc...knowledge is a tremendous tool for improvements.