Amir Johnson has plantar fasciitis, missed both Boston Celtics practices this weekend

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Amir Johnson has plantar fasciitis, missed both Boston Celtics practices this weekend

Print Email Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com

on December 20, 2015 at 3:40 PM, updated December 20, 2015 at 4:27 PM



WALTHAM -- Brad Stevens is still considering changes to the Boston Celtics rotation, but could be forced into a switch regardless with Amir Johnson suffering from plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

According to Stevens, Johnson has been getting treatment for the injury for "at least a couple weeks." The team did not reveal the issue until Sunday, when Johnson missed his second consecutive practice.

The starting big man could still play Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but has been wearing a walking boot for precautionary reasons.

"He's had it for a while," Stevens said after practice Sunday. "One of those things where I wanted to give him a couple of days to feel better."

"We've had him in a boot just to be conservative," the coach explained. "But he's – I don't know what they'll list him as for tomorrow, but I would say somewhere north of 50-percent likely that he plays."

Despite the plantar fasciitis, Johnson has shown off his elite defensive awareness over the last couple of weeks. Over seven games played during that span, the Celtics have surrendered 106.7 points per 100 possessions without him on the court, a number in line with a bottom-3 defense. When he's in the lineup, Boston turns into a defensive force, allowing an almost Spurs-ish 93.1 points per 100 possessions. His defensive rating (a measure of how the defense performs with him on the court) is by far the best among Celtics regulars.

Still, he only received four minutes of court time during the second half of Friday night's loss to Atlanta. While the Hawks shredded Boston for 1 billion points in the paint (give or take a few), he only played 45 seconds of the fourth quarter.

Most night, Stevens does not expect to manage the veteran's minutes.

"If (trainer Ed Lacerte) tells me that we need to based on where he's at right now, but my impression is he's either good to go or not," Stevens said. "Anyone who's ever had that tendon strain down there or plantar fascia knows that the hardest part is the morning when you wake up and walk around. And then once you get those orthotics in, you get moving, you get loose, it's a little bit different. So hopefully he can feel good enough to go. And we'll see."

Johnson has dealt with injuries before. Several league sources said they believe a history of ankle issues drove down his free-agent contract this summer. St

"He's been getting (the plantar fasciitis) treated," Stevens said. "I never know to what extent it affects each of these guys. But certainly that's something that you just have to keep a good pulse on and treat well. A lot of these guys have little nagging things like that."



bob
MY NOTE:  There is one cure and one cure only for plantar fasciitis, and that is 'rest'.  There is no effective treatment.  Maybe, with the absence of our defensive anchor, a chance for Mickey?


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Dr. Bob, I beg to differ. Beyond just rest, there are other approaches to treating plantar fasciitis.
1. Wear a boot at night that flexes the foot and prevents the Achilles tendon from contracting. Reading that Brad says the hardest part is in the morning makes me wonder if Amir is wearing the boot at night, the most important time to us it.

2. Apply microamp-stimulation via pads to the bottom of the foot and along the Achilles.

3. Do acupuncture on both sides of the tender area and run milliamp estim at 2 Hz and 100 Hz to the needles.

A combo of all 3 works best.

worcester wrote:Dr. Bob, I beg to differ. Beyond just rest, there are other approaches to treating plantar fasciitis.
1. Wear a boot at night that flexes the foot and prevents the Achilles tendon from contracting. Reading that Brad says the hardest part is in the morning makes me wonder if Amir is wearing the boot at night, the most important time to us it.

2. Apply microamp-stimulation via pads to the bottom of the foot and along the Achilles.

3. Do acupuncture on both sides of the tender area and run milliamp estim at 2 Hz and 100 Hz to the needles.

A combo of all 3 works best.

worcester,

I bow to your obviously superior medical knowledge and training. I was misinformed.

Well, it's good to know that Amir's rehab can be shortened.

Unless Mickey sabotages the e-stim equipment.



bob


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The stats on Amir's impact on the D are really impressive. Yes, keep Mickey away from the e-stimulators.

If you have ever experienced this ailment, you will know the pain it causes. Not sure how anyone can play professional basketball at any level with this very aggravating malady.