00:00This is the Injury Report, presented by NYU Langone Health.
00:04The Yankees lineup has suffered a major blow, with outfielder Cody Bellinger expected to miss four to six weeks after
00:10suffering a grade two hamstring strain.
00:12Bellinger felt the injury while rounding first base, but was still able to reach second and initially tried to remain
00:19in the game.
00:19So, what exactly happens inside the muscle during a grade two strain?
00:23What will Bellinger's rehab look like, and even after he's cleared, how long can it take for him to return
00:29to full speed?
00:30To help us break it all down, this week on Injury Report, we're joined by NYU Langone sports orthopedic surgeon,
00:36Dr. Spencer Stein.
00:37You see him right there. He joins me now. Dr. Stein, what's going on? How you doing, man?
00:42Doing well, yeah. Happy to be here. Not happy to talk about another Yankees injury.
00:48Yeah, Yankee fans are not happy about this. Another injury here, but, you know, we've got to talk about it
00:53here, Dr. Stein.
00:54So, let me ask you this. When we hear grade two hamstring strain, what has actually happened inside the muscle,
01:02and how significant is the difference between a grade one strain, a grade two, and a grade three strain?
01:08What's the difference between all three of those?
01:11Yeah, sure. So, the hamstring is a major muscle group on the back of the thigh. It bends the knee,
01:17and it extends the hip.
01:18So, it's extremely important in running. It's important in many athletic activities like jumping.
01:24It's tears of the hamstring, right, extremely common in sports, are graded one through three,
01:29with one being like a mild sprain of the muscle. Up to three is complete loss of muscle fiber organization,
01:37the muscles fibers.
01:38So, a grade two is in between. There is disruption of the fibers, but it's an incomplete disruption of the
01:44fibers.
01:44Dr. Stein, if you're treating a non-athlete with this injury, would there be any difference at all,
01:51or are we looking at the same thing in terms of recovery and benchmarks with a non-athlete that has
01:56this injury?
01:58Honestly, a lot of it is very similar. You know, it's that period of recovery, building up strength,
02:03making sure they're pain-free motion, they're able to walk, ambulate, run, jog, strength training.
02:09Those are all part of it. And New Yorkers are similar to athletes. I mean, patients in New York,
02:15people in New York can't get away with just sitting in a car all day. People are running to the
02:19bus,
02:19they're moving around. I mean, that's part of the beauty of New York, and that's why we're here,
02:23to help support our everyday athletes get back. And so, the answer is, it's similar recovery.
02:28Maybe it's not as intense therapy. Maybe it takes a little bit longer, because not all of us are elite,
02:33elite athletes, right? And there are some other treatment options, by the way. There's different
02:38injections. There's therapy, which we can provide. And, you know, there is surgery, but I mean,
02:43most hamstring injuries do not need surgery. Those would be more tendon avulsions. We do see those,
02:50and we're here for this.
