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January 10, 2012

Yeargin, Odum fight ailment as a pair

Todd Golden The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — Often overlooked, athletic trainers are as much a part of the fabric of a team as the players and coaches are.

Athletic trainers deal with the athletes on a day-to-day basis and the rapport they develop with the players can be as crucial to team success as more focused-upon factors like locker room chemistry or coach-player relationships.

In that respect, ISU assistant athletic trainer Brad Yeargin has been an even more crucial cog for Indiana State’s men’s basketball team than he normally is.

When ISU point guard Jake Odum was first diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in his left foot in November, it presented a cloudy outlook for Odum himself and the prospects for ISU overall.

Plantar fasciitis — an inflammation of the plantar fascia (which supports the arch) on the band of tissue on the bottom of the foot — manifests itself in different ways. None of them are good for a Division I basketball player.

“The problem with plantar fasciitis is that your plantar fascia absorbs forces as you walk or jog. Every time he steps, he has pain,” Yeargin said.

Plantar fasciitis has ended the seasons of some players, including Creighton’s Ethan Wragge last season. The only cure is rest, a luxury not available smack dab in the middle of basketball season. Factor in that Odum is/was the key to ISU’s success this season and the stakes were obviously high.

Fortunately for the Sycamores, Yeargin, Odum and coach Greg Lansing have worked together to make a painful situation as tolerable as humanly possible.

“Brad’s a great guy. He’s got a little kid [Brayden] and he spends almost as much time with me as he does his son and I greatly appreciate it,” Odum said.

Despite the pain, Odum has not missed a game. The injury was at its worst during the week of the Old Spice Classic in late November when Odum had a stretch of four games in six days, including ISU’s Nov. 21 home game against Wisconsin-Green Bay prior to the Old Spice Classic.

There are varying degrees of plantar fasciitis. The plantar fascia can be partially torn or can be completely ruptured. In Odum’s case, he has a small tear. Yeargin said the genesis of Odum’s plantar fasciitis is multi-faceted.

“A lot of it occurs with an increase in training. You might have a shoe that’s not as supportive and there may be other factors that could contribute, whether it be weak hip muscles or a tight hamstring. He has a little bit of all of those things that became pre-disposing factors to developing what he has,” Yeargin said.

From a basketball standpoint, the very nature of the sport creates several negative side-effects. Lateral movement, obviously an important component to moving with or without the ball and in playing defense, causes pain and can affect performance in a game. But that’s not the only problem.

“Basketball players are always on their toes. You constantly have that pressure on your plantar fascia on the bottom of his foot. For him to decelerate or change direction and go back the other way puts a lot of pressure right on that spot,” Yeargin said.

Treating plantar fasciitis is a lot different for a Division I athlete than it is for a non-athlete with the condition, where rest is more easily attained. Odum usually sits out practice the day after a game to give his foot rest. If the plantar fasciitis is acting up, Odum has also sat the day before games as well.

There is no one approach that is a sure-fire cure-all. Yeargin has had to apply several different methods to keep the pain under control.

“We’ve utilized a lot of techniques. We’ve used some anti-inflammatory meds, we’ve done a lot of massage on the foot.” Yeargin said. “We’ve also explored some injections, not in the plantar fascia, but in the nerve area. He’s dealing with some nerve issues as well that might be causing some of the pain, so the thought is to inject into the area [tarsal tunnel] and let the medicine run into it.”

Odum — who said that the various methods used have controlled the pain better in recent weeks — has his own favored method of treatment.

“He uses this thing called a Graston tool [a series a stainless steel implements that are intended to loosen tissue]. That gets it in there nice and deep on me. It hurts, but it might be the most effective thing.,” Odum said.

 Odum is already past the point of no return as far as a medical redshirt season is concerned, so constant care is the only option for him at this stage of the season. It would be logical to wonder, given that rest is the cure for plantar fasciitis, whether ISU has considered putting Odum on the shelf for a game or two to provide some relief.

According to Yeargin, that wouldn’t work.

“That hasn’t been an option for him. We’re letting him go as tolerated. He’s been 75 percent all year. Resting him one game won’t make a difference. He needs a significant amount of rest,” said Yeargin, who noted that once the season is over, Odum is looking at about four-to-six weeks worth of rest and treatment to rid himself of the condition.

Odum’s makeup also had an effect on how his injury is treated. To put it bluntly, Odum is stubborn. He does not want to acknowledge weakness and does not want to miss any time — practice or especially games — that would hurt the team.

So dealing with the plantar fasciitis has as much to do with managing Odum as it is the injury itself.

“Brad and Jake work hard together everyday on how much rest and treatment they need, but Jake is a pain in the butt,” said Lansing with a laugh. “He doesn’t want to miss a rep in practice, so it’s hard to get him out of there. [Odum] is doing a better job of understanding that he needs to rest a bit and that we can’t have him on the floor the entire time.”

Lansing and Yeargin’s relationship is also vital to the well-being of all of the players, not just Odum. Since Odum’s practice time has to be modified by the day, trainer and coach have to be on the same page to avoid conflict. So far, so good in that regard.

“Working with coach Lansing, he’s been phenomenal about it. He backs me on whatever I say. He’s been great about pulling him out when Jake won’t necessarily listen. Coach Lansing and I have a good relationship when it comes to modifying his practices to get the most of what he needs out of practice and also get rest,” Yeargin said.

Lansing completely defers to Yeargin and the rest of the ISU medical staff when it comes to injuries.

“Whatever Brad … goes. He’s as good a trainer as I’ve ever been around. He cares about the guys and he’s hard-working. When it comes to any injury, Brad has the final say on any of it. I trust him implictly,” Lansing said.

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