Cryotherapy. It sounds like, but isn't, freezing someone in a tube in order to solve their complex medical problems in the future. And it isn't letting your emotions out with tears until you feel better.*And yet, it's still a mystery as to what cryotherapy will do for Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun.
Braun*hopes a cryotherapy surgical procedure performed on his right thumb Thursday will relieve nerve irritation that has plagued him for two years. But he's also the first Major League Baseball player to undergo this kind of surgery, and Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash just isn't sure if it'll work.
From MLB.com:
A specialist, Dr. Vernon Williams, inserted a needle at the base of Braun's right thumb to essentially freeze a troublesome nerve that forced Braun to alter his mechanics, rendering him to swing, as Braun put it, "one-handed."
"This is a technique they have done with other athletes, but not with a baseball player," Ash said. "So I wouldn't call it experimental, but we are obviously breaking some new ground here."
Asked to assess the procedure's likelihood of success, Ash said, "I don't think anybody can tell us that."
Ash adds that "there is no Plan B," which is scary considering how valuable a healthy Braun can be to the Brewers — and how expensive. After winning the National League MVP in 2011 and finishing second in 2012, Braun experienced a noticeable drop in power the past two seasons. In 2014, he batted .266 with a .453 slugging percentage — a career low and about 100 points below average — *along with 19 home runs in 580 plate appearances. He's set to make $12 million in the coming season before a five-year, $105 million contract starts in 2016. A lot is at stake.
Fix the hand, fix Braun's power stroke — he hopes:
"It's not like I can't play. I can play. I think the longer I've dealt with it I've learned to deal with it. The pain, physically, is not so much the issue -- it's the body's reaction to not being able to use the top hand in my swing for the majority of the year.
"It impacts my bat speed, it impacts my bat path, it impacts everything I'm trying to do as a hitter. And then mentally, knowing where I'm at physically is difficult, too. I have to change my swing, I have to start my swing earlier, I have to do a lot of things that I'm not used to doing."
In addition to the nerve issue, Braun has dealt with recurring back trouble. He also missed time in 2013, suspended for the final 65 games because of involvement with Biogenesis.
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