Alabama Crimson Tide: Shaun Dion Hamilton, Mack Wilson, and Minkah Fitzpatrick

Saturday night. Primetime. Number 2 Alabama Crimson Tide and Number 19 LSU Tigers. Every time they play, its a very physical. Alabama won the game, but at the cost of losing starting linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton for the year and backup and specialist linebacker Mack Wilson for the year. Do-it-all defensive player Minkah Fitzpatrick’s status is to be determined with a hamstring injury. He’s likely to play since he did continue to play on Saturday night, with less effectiveness.

Minkah Fitzpatrick, Defensive Back. He injured his left hamstring. He was in and out of the medical tent going through a lot of testing and treatment. He did come back in the game, played with less effectiveness and limped off the field again. He did not finish the game. He is getting an MRI, per Nick Saban. He most likely strained his hamstring. Which hamstring you ask? Who knows. The MRI will tell you.

Biceps Femoris

Semitendinosus

Semimembranosus

What Could I do?
With Minkah Fitzpatrick, assuming it’s just a grade 1 or grade 2 strain, I would do a lot of manual therapy work. Whether through Active Release Techniques, Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue work, and through exercise rehabilitation. He’s at Alabama, he’ll get treatment around the clock. The training staff get electrical stim on his hamstring to help with pain and strengthening. They’ll work hard it to get him back on the field. My guess is he’ll be limited in practice for this week and a game-time (but likely to play) against Mississippi State this weekend.

Shaun Dion Hamilton, Linebacker. He fractured his right kneecap against LSU. Fractured kneecaps typically occur when you land on your kneecap forcefully or there is a direct violent blow to the kneecap itself. Reports say, that he got surgery on Sunday and that there was no ligament or tendon damage. The quadriceps tendon could have damaged since the quadriceps attaches to the patella. There are three different types of fractures that can occur. It appears that he had a stable fracture of his quadriceps and states that he could be able to go for the NFL Scouting Combine in February.

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What Could I do?
Shaun Dion Hamilton will be going through the rehabilitation process that will start with getting back leg strength quadriceps (priority) and hamstrings. He most likely will be in a leg brace to help with the healing process since there are probably screws, pins, and wires to hold the patella together. I leave the physical rehabilitation to the physical therapists and trainers. What I can do, as chiropractor, is help with pain management around the knee. Manual therapy is vital, so we’ll work the quadriceps, adductors, hamstrings and hips to help with gaining and maintaining range of motion of the knee and hip. He’ll be rehabbing 3-6 months and then in the latter months (hoping there are no setbacks) we then start with general physical preparation. I can also help with that, as CSCS. Making sure there are no muscular compensations in his movements we can start to get his body strong again before clearing him to do sports specific training.

Mack Wilson, Linebacker. He was carted off the field on Saturday night with a foot injury. The injury was severe enough that he did have surgery Sunday to repair it. So with that said and myself unable to find any information as to what the injury was, I cannot comment on the injury. He could have broken a bone in his foot. He could have torn ligaments or tendons in his foot.

What Could I do?
Not sure. I don’t know the injury and I cannot comment and say I’ll just work on the foot because I don’t know the injury.

Happy Healings Crimson Tide Football. Roll Tide!