The saga Markelle Fultz at the Philadelphia 76ers takes on more and more obscure traits. The former No.1 pick-advisor recently announced that Fultz had been diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. What is this and what does it mean for the Sixers-Guard? SPOX has contacted a shoulder specialist and investigated the most important issues.
“Markelle was diagnosed with Thoracic-outlet syndrome,” Fultz’s agent Raymond Brothers announced a few days ago via Adrian Wojnarowski (ESPN), ending (for the time being) the guesswork around his protégé’s shoulder. “It affects the nerves between the neck and shoulder, which leads to a disturbed movement pattern and therefore massively limits Markele’s ability to throw a basketball,” the consultant continued.
Fultz is said to have complained of shoulder pain for over a year, but the Philadelphia 76ers team doctors could not see the reason. It was only after Brothers sent his client across the country to various surgeons (up to 10!) that thoracic outlet syndrome was diagnosed.
A diagnosis that has been made in baseball every now and then, but hardly at all in the NBA so far. The last time this injury was detected in Nets-Guard Ben Uzoh was a few years ago. He complained not only of pain in his shoulder, but also of numbness in his thumbs.
According to Prof. Dr. Andreas B. Imhoff, Chief Physician of Sports Orthopaedics at the Klinikum Rechts der Isar in Munich and one of the best shoulder specialists in Germany, the injury is likely to occur more frequently than previously diagnosed. “This is not so uncommon among head-throwing athletes and athletes,” Professor Imhoff told SPOX.
“Thoracic-outlet syndrome means a bottleneck of the vessels when the arm is lifted above the horizontal. This leads to reduced blood circulation, sometimes with emotional disturbances,” Imhoff continued. However, he also pointed out that the extent of the restriction could vary.
Page 1: What is Thoracic Oulet Syndrome?
Page 2: Was wrong training of Fultz the reason for the injury?
Page 3: How long will Markelle Fultz be out of action now?
Page 4: What does the injury mean for Fultz’s future career?
Page 5: What does the TOS violation mean for a possible trade?