In December Kobe Bryant went down with a “hyperextension injury” in his left knee that turned out to be a left knee fracture. In a recent interview, he somewhat sarcastically huffed that this is not at all related to his left Achilles tear from April. He couldn’t be more wrong about that, and here’s why:
The Achilles is responsible for preventing hyperextension injuries of the knee.
This isn’t even complicated. That tendon is supposed to prevent the exact injury he sustained. But the tissue was apparently cleared as “strong” by his doctors. So that what happened?
Strength and performance are two different things. A tendon can be strong in all sorts of tests, but there is a special coordination during sports performance that you just can’t really simulate until you do it. And a key variable here is trust. Does Kobe trust his Achilles enough to actually use all of the strength that he has built back up, or will he hesitate and favor that area subconsciously. Here’s a quote from Kobe during a 12/26 press conference:
“The Achilles felt fine. It was strong. From getting out on the court from that, it was a matter of the rest of the body catching up. Also, like I said before, there was some natural tentativeness, and what you can and what you can’t do, so you kind of just go down the list and try to improve from game to game.”
There’s no doubt that Kobe’s Achilles had regained its strength, but this tentativeness matters. It matters because if he doesn’t trust the repaired tendon enough to use it, then he’s going to shut it down. And if he shuts this particular tendon down, he’s vulnerable to a hyperextension injury.
Beyond the biomechanics of this fracture, the fact that he was non-weight bearing for 9 months following his April injury could’ve also decreased his bone density enough to weaken the knee joint itself. Nonetheless, it’s unlikely Kobe Bryant is afflicted with osteoporosis and if his knee movement was coordinated enough, it wouldn’t have hyperextended to that extent in the first place.
Kobe Bryant is a competitor, and he’ll predictably hold the party line that these two injuries have nothing to do with each other. He’s made of career of overcoming challenges and pushing through injuries, and mental toughness is one of his best assets. While these characteristics are some of his best attributes, pushing through before trust has been re-established will has put him at risk. Full strength and mental toughness are necessary, but to return to form, he must find a way to fully regain the trust and coordination he needs in his left knee.