Joe Burrow will deal with “on and off inflammation” for “quite some time,” says orthopedic surgeon

Not the best news but not terrible either.

Joe Burrow is coming off a somewhat concerning procedure for his right (throwing) wrist.

And we finally have an expert giving us a realistic idea of what to expect.

Orthopedic surgeon Jeffrey Kutsikovich told A to Z Sports’s John Sheeran that Burrow will have to be careful with his surgically repaired wrist, saying:

“He’s going to definitely need to listen to his body a little bit.. Part of it is dealing with on-and-off inflammation after this surgery for quite some time. I would probably expect him to have on-and-off problems from a soreness standpoint for about a year…”

The thing is, a lot of that inflammation will be out of his control. Here’s what Dr. Kutsikovich said about that:

Part of it isn’t physical mechanics of the wrist, separating, or the ligament sailing or the repair failing. It’s from inflammation that can get stirred up as a result of just recovering from the injury… For example, if he’s got a short week and he’s practicing, he gets what’s called synovitis, which is just inflammation of the wrist. That’s something he’ll think about every time he throws the ball.

The board-certified surgeon who specializes in hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder repair said that “medications” and “various types of injections” can help him work through the discomfort.

So what about the wrist getting worse?

Well, if Burrow has another 300 pound defensive lineman land on his wrist, he could be in big trouble.

“Throwing is not high stress on the wrist, per se,” said Dr. Kutsikovich. “Ultimately, the wrist kind of bears the brunt of a fall, and the question is, ‘How is his body going to respond to the first few hits?’”

And, as Sheeran explains, a re-tear of the ligament would require reconstructive surgery, which no one would want to see.

Will Burrow make a full recovery?

Dr. Kutsikovich explained that while orthopedic surgeries usually have a success rate of 90-95%, Burrow’s surgery, a scapholunate ligament repair surgery, only has a success rate of 75-80%.

“The big long-term problem with this specific injury is the results of the repair are not as consistent with the results of repairs in, let’s say, other joints,” said Dr. Kutsikovich.

Hopefully, a revamped offensive line will be able to keep the QB upright, and he makes a full recovery.

We interviewed Sheeran to talk about his report in the video below: