I saw a special years ago that featured Ronnie Lott and Joe Montana. It went into detail about how much work they both put into stretching (and show video) in order to prevent injury. Can't one do ankle stretches or some similar exercise to increase one's flexibility in order to prevent the type of injury one gets from stepping on someone's foot? I'm not trying to blame Greg, I'm just wondering.
I'd imagine, but eventually it's going to stop stretching and start pulling/straining/tearing. In Jiu Jitsu we would stretch out like arms and stuff so we were more flexible when getting caught in armbars. Stretching can never hurt but theres always a point where it just won't stretch anymore.
Quoted for truth. Pretty much nailed it Also, a medial lateral ligament in the foot probably wouldn't benefit a ton from ankle stretching. I'm not sure which ligament it was, but if it's one based more on the foot than connecting from a calf muscle to the foot via the ankle, then I don't think it would help much. Stretching and strengthening are part of the rehab process, and I don't think it'd hurt to do strengthening (moderation and correctly of course) beyond rehab too. I trust the trainers for the Blazers a lot more than I trust my relatively limited knowledge as a 2nd year student in an athletic training program.
I had a pretty nasty sprain back in March, and I was out (instructed not to PT) for much longer than Greg is projected to be. I've been working on strengthening the muscles around my ankles and flexing them to prevent anything like that again. But I think the best thing for Oden will be to take off some of that weight, and when he's able to move at 100%, then start building himself up. He needs to be comfortable within his own body before he can put on that kind of beef. There's really no rush for him to be Hulk at this time.