Dr. Mark E. Pruzansky
Dr. Jason S. Pruzansky
975 Park Avenue New York, NY 10028

LaMarcus Aldridge Continues Playing With Thumb Injury

Dr Pruzansky | February 2, 2015

Trail Blazers’ All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge hurt his left thumb January 19th against the Sacramento Kings. While X-rays taken during the game came back negative for a fracture, an MRI showed Aldridge had a torn a ligament.

On Thursday the 22nd, the Blazers announced that Aldridge had a radial collateral ligament tear in his left thumb, and would need to undergo surgery. Aldridge was expected to be out of play for 6-to-8 weeks due to the surgery.

Surprisingly, Saturday morning Aldridge announced he would temporarily forego the recommended surgery.  Aldridge has since played two games, and shot an admirable 64 points on 45 shot attempts.

By altering his play style via some creative modifications, Aldridge has held his own on the court. However, continuing to play while having a radial collateral ligament tear in his thumb can cause the problem to be exacerbated. It’s yet to be determined if Aldridge’s additional court time is worth potential long-term damage.

In August 2012, Los Angeles Clippers All-Star point guard Chris Paul suffering the same injury had the necessary surgery, during which it took surgeons between 30 and 40 minutes to reattach his ligament at the spot it tore off the bone.