FORT MYERS, Fla. - When J.D. Drew arrived at spring training two weeks ago, he mentioned that he had experienced back stiffness in the offseason. He said he was not limited in any way. He was doing baseball activities, and the back was not going to prevent him from continuing to do them.
Until this week, when Drew and the Red Sox made the decision to send him to Boston for an injection in the facet joint in his lower back.
The team and the player say this is a precautionary, proactive measure, to try to ensure that Drew is able to play as much as possible this season. But he does have a herniated disk - that is not in question - and it was that injury that cost him all but two regular-season games after Aug. 17 last year.
"The reason we did it was kind of - I want to explain this right - kind of precautionary," Francona said. "We have some time right now because it's so early in March, and J.D., through getting looked at by some different people, thought this could be a benefit to him. If it worked, we think we thought OK, good. If it didn't seem to do anything, OK, well, it's March 3 or March 2.
"If we run into a problem later this year, maybe we know a little bit quicker where to go."
Drew had the injection in the same area where he tore the sheath around his spine in 2001 with St. Louis.
The herniated disk, which caused severe pain for Drew last season, is still there. It could flare up at any time, though Drew has been upbeat about his back this spring. The stiffness, both in the offseason and this spring, had mostly resulted from long periods of inactivity, like plane or bus rides, or meals in restaurants.
"It was really encouraging," Drew told NESN yesterday morning. "Usually after you get an injection like that, because of the numbing medicine, if you feel relief right away, then they've kind of got it in the right area. Felt really good getting up off the table, so I was very encouraged by that, and think hopefully this could be kind of a long-term benefit."
The injection, administered in Boston by Dr. Bill Palmer, was a facet block. According to the website of Brigham and Women's Hospital's Pain Management Center, a facet block is an injection of local anesthetic and steroid into the joint. "Facet blocks . . . are typically ordered for patients who have pain primarily in their back coming from arthritic changes in the facet joints or for mechanical low back pain," the website reads. If there is a "lasting benefit" from the injection, the patient could have it repeated in the future, according to the site.
That appears to be part of the plan. If Drew finds that the injection helps, then he could get another later in the season if the back problems continue to be an issue.
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