Alaska big men benefit from China trip

Alaska’s Aces big men – Sonny Thoss, Gabby Espinas and Calvin Abueva – have all benefited immensely from their trip to China where their injuries were addressed through modern treatments and traditional Chinese medicine.

The players were accompanied by team physician Dr. Facundo Sun and assistant trainer Mike Braga.

Thoss had an injured left knee which previously affected even his walk. The injury also forced his right knee to overwork in trying to compensate for the hurt left knee. He could not extend his left leg fully which meant it remained slightly bent at the knee. He said he endured the discomfort of the injury which he hid from the public for over a year. He said he could not even complete a full squat because his left knee hurt so much.

Comprehensive examinations in China revealed that even the right knee of Thoss had also been slightly injured. This was because the right knee compensated for the injured left knee causing damage to the right knee as well.

Thoss is now fully recovered after treatments in China. Now he does not feel any pain in his left knee even when he performs full squats. More importantly he no longer needs to do any biomechanical misadjustments using his right knee to compensate for any weakness of the left knee.

Alaska trainer Gus Vargas said the next step for Sonny will be a comprehensive strengthening exercises to get him to back to game shape.

More good news for the Alaska Aces as rookie Abueva, the most banged up player on the Alaska bench during the past Commissioner’s Cup especially during the playoffs, won’t be needing surgery for a hairline ligament tear of his MCL and floating bone spurs on his left knee.

Chinese specialists, according to Dr. Sun, confirmed the findings of local doctors that it will not be necessary to put Abueva under the knife. Sun said findings in China on Abueva’s left knee supported the recommendation of Filipino doctors that his condition can be treated through therapy and rest.

After treatments in China Abueva can now do single leg squats without being bothered by his left knee. Because he was hurt he was unable to execute that move before going to China. He now jumps higher than ever before.

Espinas on the other hand is suffering from a slipped disc. Affected areas are the left side of his lower back up to his glutes (or butt) where he feels soreness.

Treatment from a Chinese doctor included manipulating his spine and sliding everything into place. There was a bulge on his lower back which is now considerably smaller than it was before the treatment.

Additional treatment here in the country will include strengthening his back muscles with flex exercises and subjecting it to traction. Additional modalities including Acupuncture and Chiropractic treatment will ensure Espinas will soon be practically good as new.