Mariners infielder Ryon Healy – out since May 21 with lower back issues – has been diagnosed with spinal stenosis, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. He’ll miss at least three to four more weeks as a result, according to manager Scott Servais.
Healy will undergo an epidural Tuesday in hopes of lessening the pain, per Johns. While Healy doesn’t expect the procedure to cure his problem, he suggested to Johns that the injury shouldn’t be a hindrance going forward “if we rehab it properly.”
With the Mariners firmly in sell mode leading up to the July 31 deadline, Healy has come up in trade rumors during his time on the injured list. This latest development figures to officially take him out of play as an in-season trade piece for Seattle, though. More importantly, the hope is that it won’t hamper the 27-year-old Healy as he continues his career. A spinal stenosis diagnosis in 2015 helped derail former Mets third baseman David Wright, who seldom took the field again before deciding to wrap up his playing days at the end of last season.
In addition to dealing with Healy’s ongoing absence, the Mariners will have to continue without right fielder Mitch Haniger for the time being, Johns explains. Haniger has been on the IL with a ruptured testicle since June 7. While Haniger has begun light (non-baseball) activity, there’s still no timetable for his return.
Lots of painful and tough injuries for the Mariners this season you don’t usually see.
Definitely. Tough all around.
Two words you never want to see together. Ruptured and testicle.
Yikes. That’s even worse than gangrene of the testicles. I suppose the worst would be ruptured gangrene testicles. Talk about taking the fun out of baseball.
Too soon to use the word ball. Have some compassion. 😉
I’ve never thought anything of his playing career, but I feel terrible for him and wish him nothing but luck in his recovery. It’s de generative and will only get worse.
My mom was diagnosed with spinal stenosis last year and just had back surgery to reconstruct her vertebrae’s so I hope he gets quality care from his doctors.
Wow. Forget baseball, I hope he’s able to lead a normal life as he ages. This condition only gets worse with time.
Man, that’s brutal..
Oh this is awful news. I was diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis at around the same age, and some days it’s hard to get out of bed to go to a desk job. Pain in the area, weakness in the legs, pins and needles in the feet, etc. Most doctors won’t perform a vertebrae reconstruction on younger people, so it’s really all about maintenance and pain tolerance. Yoga, acupuncture, and a dedicated stretching regimen have worked wonders for me but every day is a grind. Best of luck to Ryon. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.
I was diagnosed with the same thing about 6 years ago when I was same age. Luckily my pain has eased up… Or my pain tolerance went up… But what did help me was an inversion table. I was told by a doctor that she wouldn’t recommend surgery until I started losing control of my bowels. Hopefully that’s decades away
Brutal condition. I have it my lumbar and cervical areas. All it takes is one wrong turn or twist, then bam, I’m on the ground in pain.
I can’t imagine how he would be able to swing a bat, let alone everything else required to play baseball.
Spinal stenosis indicates a narrow spinal canal putting pressure on nerve roots from the compression. All the epidurals in the world don’t make it wider…..at best only temporary relief. .. surgery follows sooner or later..