CC Sabathia's Knee Degeneration And The Road To 300

Just a few years ago many believed CC Sabathia had the best chance of any active pitcher to reach 300 wins. With 2,775 and 1/3 innings entering the 2015 season CC had pitched more innings by age 32 than any hurler of the last 40 years except Greg Maddux. Over the past two seasons CC’s R knee has shown signs of all this mileage. He was diagnosed with degenerative joint disease and suffers from chronic pain, inflammation and swelling. As a physical therapist and sports rehab junkie I thought it might be fun to chronicle and break down the many procedures and treatments that he has gone through and have been recommended to him along his journey.

CC has been pitching through intermittent knee pain since the 2010 season. He tried reducing stress on the knee by losing weight during multiple off season’s only to put the weight back on over the course of the season. These efforts came to a halt during mid July of the 2014 season when he simply could not pitch through the pain any longer. At this time CC underwent arthroscopic surgery to the knee for debridement and removal of a bone spur. CC was told he would not require microfracture surgery.

For those of you that are not interested in the procedures I'm about to explain, skip ahead otherwise let's dig in!

Microfracture Surgery-

This is an invasive surgical procedure where tiny holes or “microfractures” are made in the bone near the damaged cartilage. These holes are said to release cells in the bone which build new cartilage and repair damaged tissue. The goal is to slow or prevent further cartilage damage. This treatment is usually followed by an intensive bout of physical rehabilitation.

His plan was to rehabilitate the knee and once again reduce weight during the off season. A knee brace was recommended but CC simply wasn’t comfortable pitching with it. CC made it to August of the 2015 season when the pain and swelling became unbearable once again. Over the course of a year and a half CC went through multiple rounds of platelet rich plasma and stem cell injections.

PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injections-

Platelets and liquid plasma are portions of our blood that contain many factors which promote healing in soft tissue and bone. Blood is drawn from the patient and spun in a centrifuge separating the platelet rich plasma from the blood’s other components. The PRP is then injected into the knee, in this case with the intention of intensifying the body’s healing capacity.

Stem Cell Injections-

Stem cell injections are an alternative to joint replacement and steroids injections. A physician injects amniotic stem cells into the body which act as a natural anti-inflammatory and joint lubricant.

The combination of these treatments, rest, physical therapy and his willingness to use his prescribed knee brace resulted in a fairly effective return to the mound to close the 2015 season. Little did we know he was in need of a different kind of rehab. On October 5th he went to the team requesting help with alcohol addiction.

Due to the degenerative nature of his condition, his size and the position he plays, in my professional opinion I believe it to be unlikely CC's knee will be able to endure the stress of 200 innings any longer and will either have to be nursed through the season or relegated to the bullpen. His dream of achieving 300 wins is over.

Please let me know if you agree or have topics for future discussion in the comment section below.