Subscribe
Follow Us
Mike Trout has been one of the most consistent forces in MLB. The Los Angeles Angels star has been the long bright in what has otherwise been a tumultuous era for the team. He's extremely talented, and for the most part was consistently available throughout the year. Recently, though, there has been a surprising development regarding Trout's health.
In the last few weeks, Trout has missed more and more games due to a mysterious injury. The Angels placed him on the injured list at one point. The reports varied, from “back spasms” to “rib inflammation”. After a while, the official diagnosis was revealed: a costoverterbral dysfunction at T5.
For the average joe, that diagnosis won't make too much sense. Let's break down Mike Trout's spinal injury, and see what this means for his career in the short and the long run.
Mike Trout's insanely rare spinal injury
The simplest way to put it is that one of Trout's vertebrae has been acting up recently. In particular, the Angels star's injury stems from his fifth thoracic vertebra (located somewhere above the shoulder blades). The nuances of his injury, though, warrant a close inspection on how the human spine works.
Each of your body's thoracic vertebrae is connected (or articulated) to a particular rib. The connection form small joints that aid your body in it's day-to-day movements. These joints are aptly named “costoverterbal” joints, from “costo” (referring to ribs), and “vertebral”.
Similar to other joints, trauma and overuse can damage the costovertebral joint and cause pain for the person. That is what most likely happened to Mike Trout: years of repetitive motion due to the nature of baseball was the most likely culprit of his injury. That also is in line with the Angels star's version of events, where he says he doesn't know where exactly it came from.
Will this affect his play on the field?
It definitely will. The sport of baseball forces its players to engage in continual rotational motion at every position. Whether it's throwing a baseball or swinging a bat, players need to exert effort from their shoulder area. The pain and inflammation from Mike Trout's injury will definitely be a deterrent to his ability to play at a high level.
Will Mike Trout return during the season?
It depends on how well Trout's body respond to the treatment he's going through. Dealing with this injury is similar to how other joint-related injuries are dealt with. Already, the Angels star has been given a cortisone shot to deal with the inflammation. After that, he'll undergo the usual mobility and conditioning exercises that come with injury rehabilitation.
For what it's worth, the Angels star is optimistic that he'll return to the field sooner than later. That's a good sign that their rehab sessions are going according to plan.
Is this a potentially career-ending injury for Mike Trout?
Unless there's a drastic development in his injury, no, it shouldn't be. The most likely scenario is that Mike Trout and the Angels will have to deal with this injury for the rest of his career. That means constant medication and rehabilitation to ensure that the symptoms of pain and inflammation don't flare up in the future. Perhaps it may never return again, perhaps he'll experience this pain every other month. At this point, it's anyone's guess.
