The Great Toe of Ryan Harris

We now have confirmed information that Ryan Harris actually dislocated his great toe, not two of his little ones. Here's why this should matter to you: there is a world of difference betweeen the outer toes and the great toe in terms of consequences of the injury and its recovery time. After the jump we'll discuss the dreaded Turf Toe and how we may expect Ryan Harris to perform after his recovery.

While seen in other sports, turf toe or subluxation of the first tarsal is peculiarly prominent in football. The stressors of leverage applied on a firm surface to the foot may exceed thousands of pounds per square inch. Basically speaking,  in turf toe -the toe is bent back to such a degree that it separates from the socket holding it to the foot and tears the tendons and cartilage that form the foundation for its stability. There is an endplate of cartilage on the foot bone that is fractured and has poor blood supply leading to prolonged and often ineffective healing of this necessary structure. While it may seem laughable, the great toe is actually hugely responsible for our balance and ability to spring off our foot when walking in normal life  -- comprising greater than 60% of our contact with Mother Earth as we transfer weight to our next step.

In a football player, especially a lineman who is meeting significant force pushing him backward on passing plays there is tremendous reliance on this joint for stability and transfer of power from the upper legs and torso to the contact point with the ground. On running plays all force moving forward is channeled directly through leverage with the ground through the great toe. In taking a three point stance this joint is stretched and loaded to rebound with power at the snap of the ball. There may not be a more important joint in either offensive or defensive lines to have healthy and flexible.

Most football players have firm inserts in their shoes that prevent such severe stretching of this joint. The fact that Ryan Harris has injured his concerns me a great deal. These injuries have ended careers and greatly inhibited performance in others. SD  Antonio Gates has been bothered by this injury for two years. They are very painful and difficult to heal because of the poor blood supply and because they are difficult to effectively immobilize. This means there is constant tearing and rehealing with resultant scar tissue and impaired flexibility as a consequence. I wouldn't expect much help from Ryan Harris till mid December if he is fortunate to heal quickly. I would also expect his performance and explosiveness to be less than before this injury, perhaps even for the rest of the year. Bad news all around and bad luck for one of our premier players.