Expert explains Anthony Davis’ plantar fasciitis injury

Let’s take a closer look at the plantar fasciitis injury that has been plaguing Anthony Davis since last season.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis has dealt with a number of injuries throughout his career, from ones that kept him out of games to more recent nagging injuries that he has been able to manage and play through.

An injury in the latter category crept up again vs. the Detroit Pistons when Davis landed with a hard impact on his heel and was noticeably hobbled afterward. He then missed the following game against the Memphis Grizzlies and the Lakers’ injury report eventually designated the injury as plantar fasciitis.

Davis said after the Pistons game that he has been dealing with his issue since the tail end of last season, through the Olympics and, obviously, into this season. I took a closer look at what the injury is, what it means for Davis this season and how the team will look to manage it.

Obviously, it’s not ideal to be dealing with these types of nagging injuries but it is very much part and parcel with being an elite athlete. Many players are dealing with some sort of issue on a daily basis to be available to play.

In Davis’ case, his stature and importance to the team amplify the need for his availability, particularly since the new coaching staff has platformed Davis to be the main cog on the team, to which he has responded at an MVP level.

This will be a fluid situation and I will keep you updated as we learn more.

Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT has a doctorate in physical therapy from Northern Arizona University, and runs his own in-person and online sports medicine and performance business, 3CB Performance, in West LA and Valencia, CA and partners with Quantum Performance in which he further combines his movement expertise and fitness training background to rehab & train elite athletes. He also works at a hospital — giving him experience with patients in the immediate healthcare setting and neurological patients (post stroke, post brain injury) — and has been practicing for over 5 years.

Brar is additionally training at UCLA’s mindful awareness research center (MARC), has a background in youth basketball coaching and analyzes the Lakers from a medical and skills perspective for Silver Screen and Roll and on his own YouTube Channel. You can follow him on Twitter at @3cbPerformance.