We got the news early on Thursday that Carter Hart will be done for the rest of the season. He has an MCL sprain in his left knee. This is an injury I recently went through, although mine was either an MCL sprain or a partial tear (My doctor told me the treatments for both are very similar anyway). I’m not going to claim to know everything about his diagnosis and recovery path, but I can explain what it probably entails.
First off, MCL tears aren’t something that requires surgery. It’s very rare for an MCL tear to be bad enough for surgery, so that’s completely off the table for him. Also, he is an NHL goalie, I am a Division III NCAA swimmer, two different sports and compete levels. I can give a walkthrough of what the recovery process was.
I am a breaststroker, and for anyone who doesn’t know swimming, it’s a very awkward stroke that has a very awkward kick, especially for the knees, it’s essentially like frog kick. I first started feeling pain in my knee in late October of 2019. I stopped doing breaststroke kick, and it didn’t get too much better so I went to a doctor that works with my college’s athletic department. I was diagnosed with a MCL sprain/partial tear. Like I said before, the treatment was fairly similar, so there wasn’t too much of a need to go too far into the differences at that time. This was around Thanksgiving of 2019. I was given knee brace to wear, and had to be cautious of what I was doing and when I was walking. I was supposed to keep my knee straight, and keep from doing stuff like squats or box jumps when at team lifts. I had to meet with the doctor a month later before I could do breaststroke kick again, but still had to wear a knee brace for about another month. So, I was in a knee brace from about Thanksgiving 2019 to around mid January 2020, about 2 months. My knee feel fully healed. Carter Hart, it seems, got this diagnosed fairly quickly so I see no reason why he wouldn’t be ready for Opening Night 2021, assuming he follows his doctor’s orders. Knee injuries are scary, I know, but this is one that is probably worse sounding than it really is. Shutting him down for the last while of a lost season is the best thing to do 100%.
By Noah Caplan (@Phlyers24 and @NoahlyPod)
Pic creds: Broad Street Buzz
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