Orlando Magic suffer blow with herniated disc diagnosis for Dwight Howard – NBA Update
The Orlando Magic have fallen on tough times recently with Dwight Howard sitting out 5 games. The Magic played Friday without him once more, and are now 1 – 4 in his absence. The early opinion on Howard was that the player was suffering from back spasms,
but the latest diagnosis is far more alarming.
The Magic super star was in Los Angeles to get a second opinion on his back problems from Dr. Robert Watkins and the news coming out is not good. The Dr. from L.A. diagnosed Howard with a herniated disc in his lower back, as confirmed by Orlando spokesman
Joel Glass.
Howard had earlier been concerned with the pain in his back but believed it to be because of spasms. He opined that because of the physical nature of his game, his body endured a lot of punishment and therefore it was understandable that some wear and tear
was causing the pain.
``I just have to stay on top of it,’’ Howard said. ``The way that I play it was bound to happen. Not major back problems, but being in the post you get hit in the back a lot. I’m a physical player, so a lot of players hit me in my back a lot. Somebody who
jumps a lot, after a while it starts to wear on their body.’’
He remarked that he would be extra careful in the coming days and try and nurture himself back to full fitness.
“I have to do all of the things to take care of the rest of my body so that my back is strong,’’ he said. ``It’s day-to-day right now. Some days it feels better than others. There’s really nothing I can do about it but continue to do all of the things in
the training room.’’
Dwight’s head coach Stan Van Gundy had earlier opined that the forward could be out till the end of the regular season, as the Magic did not want to risk aggravating his condition. He was believed to be headed for a return at the start of the playoffs.
However, with a herniated disc now diagnosed, it won’t be easy to predict when he can get back. The Magic have declined from making a comment on the matter, and it is understood that a schedule will be developed once treatment starts.
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