Two medical experts believe an extremely tall player such as Kristaps Porzingis could have a normal recovery and rehab while returning from an ACL tear — citing a lack of evidence to the contrary.
“Porzingis’ height should not play a role in the speed of recovery and rate of success,” Dr. Armin Tehrany, founder of Manhattan Orthopedic Care, told The Post. “What matters is the quality of the rehabilitation and his genetic disposition to heal.”
On Monday, Porzingis said his body frame is different from any other professional athlete who has torn an ACL.
“We’ve done things differently because there is no protocol for a 7-3 guy,” Porzingis said. “There is no timetable for my type of body, my size.”
Dr. Laith Jazrawi, sports medicine specialist at NYU-Langone, told The Post: “I don’t think it makes that much of a difference.”
Jazrawi could only guess that Porzingis likely was referring to the “rotation force” of his steps with his longer leg.
According to Hoops Rumors, of the 78 players who have torn their ACLs since 1996, the tallest are both 7-foot-1: Robert Swift and ex-Knick Jerome James. Reportedly, just six players have been at least 7-foot tall.
“He’s probably theorizing with his longer leg, there’s more potential rotational stress on the knee because he’s so tall,” Jazrawi said. “They may want more time for graft maturity. The rotatory force transmitted to the knee could be stronger because of his longer lever arm. I don’t think it makes that much of a difference, but maybe he’s alluding to that.”
Jazrawi said holding a player such as Porzingis out of action beyond 12 months of recovery time — possibly missing the whole 2018-19 season — would be unnecessary as long as he passes his quad-hamstring tests on a Biodex machine.
Jazrawi added data suggest the difference between a 10-month absence and a 12-month absence could slightly lessen the risk of a recurrence, but there is heavy debate within the medical community on the issue. Jazrawi believes 95 percent of athletes can return within 10 months despite a recent NBA trend of 12-month recoveries.
If Porzingis waits 12 months, he would be back after the All-Star break. A 10-month absence would put him back before Christmas. If he misses the season and returns for 2019 training camp, Porzingis would have been out 19 months.
Porzingis said he plans to be ready to play if he passes the required leg-strength tests. Jazrawi said there are two basic tests; the most important one is straightening out the leg at full force on a high-tech machine. The force of the injured leg is compared with the force of the healthy leg. If the injured leg is 85 percent of the healthy leg, the medical community considers that passing.
“You can’t have quads and hamstrings weak because all the force is borne by the ACL,” Jazrawi said. “Eighty-five percent is enough quad strength to support the knee.”
The other strength test is a “series of pop and jump tests to see how they’re landing,” Jazrawi said. “You want them landing in a good crouch position. If they’re tilting, it could be because of some weakness.”
Jazrawi said the knee graph following surgery reaches full maturity in eight to 10 months.
“Twelve months is excessive, but some data suggests giving it closer to a year mark may be better even if you’ve passed strength tests,” Jazrawi said.
Porzingis underwent surgery seven months ago. The 23-year-old is doing “light running” and shooting drills but not shooting jump shots. Porzingis and the Knicks have not given a timetable for his return.