Alex Rodriguez Has Same Experimental Therapy As Kobe Bryant
Swinger
New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is taking medical advice from Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and recently traveled to Germany to have an experimental therapy on his troublesome right knee. Rodriguez cleared the procedure, called Orthokine, with both the Yankees and Major League Baseball before having it in November.
Orthokine involves taking blood from a person’s arm, spinning it in a centrifuge and then injecting it in the desired area. In this case, that area was Rodriguez’s knee. The New York Post reports Bryant had the procedure on his knee this past summer and on his ankle in October.
“A lot of athletes I’ve talked to really think this stuff works, but we really don’t have a lot of scientific knowledge behind it of exactly what’s happening,” said Dr. Jonathan Glashow, the co-chief of sports medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. “It’s a great way to reduce inflammation and therefore pain, and that’s the essence of it. I think a lot of the athletes who have wear-and-tear on their knees benefit from this. You do it for a while and if it doesn’t stay good you do it again in a few years.”
A-Rod hit .276 with 16 homers and 62 RBIs in 99 games in the 2011 season. He had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee in early July and didn’t return to the Yankees lineup until August 21.
