Steph Curry planted on his left leg while closing out on Mike Conley in the corner with 9:04 remaining in the second quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ 99-88 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. The play seemed harmless, and came just moments after Curry hit a stepback three to put the Warriors up 25-20.
However, Curry, after planting, immediately reached to the back of his left thigh. Curry’s mouthpiece dangled from his mouth as he grabbed his leg. It was so subtle that someone could assume maybe he just needed to fix his shorts.
As he grabbed the rebound seconds later and brought it up court, Curry reached for his thigh again. He would burst forward and cross over to get past the half-court line, pass the ball off to Draymond Green, and reach for his thigh again.
Curry got the ball back, planted off his left leg again, and surged past Nickeil Alexander-Walker and hit a floater to extend Golden State’s lead to seven. Curry landed, gave no visible sign of discomfort or pain, but immediately signaled to Steve Kerr that he needed to come out of that game.
He played a few more seconds, and had an assist on a Draymond Green three to get the Warriors up 10, before Kerr subbed him out at the 8:19 mark in the second quarter.
Over the next 30 minutes of real time, the murmur throughout Target Center and presumably in every Warriors household was What the heck happened? [italics]
Shortly thereafter, the Warriors announced that Curry would be out for the remainder of the game with a hamstring injury. On Wednesday afternoon, they announced he would be out for at least a week and re-evaluated on May 14.
However, he could be out even longer because they announced it as a Grade 1 hamstring strain. That often has lasting effects and can linger if not treated appropriately and correctly.
What is a hamstring strain?
A strain, sprain, and tear are interchangeable ways to describe overstretching one of three muscles that make up the hamstring: Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus, and Semimembranosus.
Regardless of which muscle suffers the injury, it is graded in three distinct ways. Grade 1 represents a partial tear of the muscle that does not go all the way through the muscle but is considered “minor.”
However, minor is subjective to the provider assessing the MRI, but generally reflects a tear that’s not over halfway through the total amount of the muscle. On the other hand, a Grade 2 tear reflects a tear that is considered “major” and is over halfway through the muscle. Finally, a Grade 3 injury is a complete tear.
How does it happen?
Hamstring tears are challenging to pin down on a specific cause, but generally, they occur when a person stops abruptly from running (planting a foot) or begins to run.
Depending on the severity, a person could feel a popping or releasing sensation in the back of their thigh. A sharp pain usually follows because the leg sends the brain the message that something is amiss. The pain usually persists, usually as dull pain when the muscle isn’t moving, sharp pain when lifting the leg, and sharper pain when the leg is relaxed again.
The pain is located on the back of the thigh and is usually tender to the touch. Weakness accompanies it due to the damaged muscle and swelling as plasma and blood leak through the torn tissues, and the body focuses more of its blood flow on the damaged tissues.
Treatment
For those with minor strains, RICE is the acronym to live by. R stands for rest, I for ice, C for compression, and E for elevation. The acronym is the gold standard for muscle, ligament, and joint injuries.
Resting the injury allows no further damage, especially in a muscle injury. Every time one uses the muscle, it puts pressure on the elastic-like fibers that compose the muscle and risks further injury.
Ice decreases inflammation and provides pain relief. It also allows the tissues to clot internally if they have not already done so. It lessens the swelling around blood vessels so they can flow properly.
Compression helps with that blood flow, pushing the leaked plasma and blood back into the circulatory system and helping the vessels move that fluid around the body. Elevate is a similar symbol, allowing gravity to help bring fluid back into the system and decrease the inflammation.
Steph Curry’s Situation
The Warriors are listing Curry’s injury as a Stage 1 strain, so surgical options and more intensive therapy are unlikely.
Curry’s healing likely requires him to spend less time on his left leg and rest. However, therein lies the issue with hamstring strains, especially grade one strains. The timetable for healing is a moving goal post.
Everyday people can heal from an injury in a week, resume normal activities, and take it easy on their treadmill runs. However, the average person could take a month to recover. Even then, the pain of the injury usually lingers.
However, with Curry or any NBA player, the injury has to be fully healed before resuming play. If he returns too early, a minor tear turns into a bigger tear, grows with each step, and the pain gets worse with each stride.
The urge to return early in a playoff series will be ever present, especially given that Golden State’s season will be on the line. Curry will likely be out for at least Games 2, 3, and 4, which means the Wolves could have to face Curry again in these playoffs.
On the other hand, Curry’s age and profession may slow down the healing process. Due to the nature of the hamstring injury, Game 1 could have been the last the league sees of Curry, even if the Warriors advance.
Only time will tell how fast he heals, and the Wolves will need to take advantage of every second he isn’t on the court.