Helton listens to the voice of experience

DENVER - The meeting between Randy Johnson and Todd Helton took place Wednesday in the Colorado Rockies weight room, a random encounter during which Johnson did most of the talking and Helton listened intently.

Johnson had made a victorious start a night earlier for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was doing stretching exercises that are part of his daily routine after three back operations for a herniated disk. Helton, sidelined indefinitely with a similar problem, was doing what he could.

"He came over and was watching me stretch," Johnson said. "I had my iPod on and wasn't even aware that he was there, and then we started talking."

Johnson underwent surgery for a herniated disk in September 1996 at age 33. After the 2006 season, Johnson, who turns 45 on Sept. 10, underwent surgery on a different disk, which was herniated. He had the similar operation on the same disk in July 2007, a consequence of trying to come back too soon from his 2006 operation.

"I didn't know if Todd was going to be having surgery or not having surgery," Johnson said, "I just wanted to explain to him symptoms I had and the rehab I had. He just kind of listened. And I think it sounded like he was going to consult with Dr. Watkins, which I think would be a good thing. He didn't really tell me the extent of what he had."

Robert Watkins, a renowned spine surgeon who performed the three operations on Johnson's back, is based in Marina del Rey, Calif.

"Having peace of mind is what you really want to have, because anything can set it off," said Johnson, referring to the sharp back pain he knows all too well. "You can get out of bed wrong. You can pick up your kid. You can pick up a cup of coffee, leaning the wrong way to get it, anything."

Helton, who turns 35 Wednesday, has been dealing with the uncertain onset of agony for well over a month. He last played July 2 and has received three epidurals to try to calm the inflammation in his lower back.

"There's things that can kind of take the edge off the symptoms like cortisone shots and epidurals and things like that," Johnson said. "But, obviously, if you're looking like four or five years ahead and you still have the same injury. ... "

Former Rockies player Ellis Burks suffered a back injury before coming to Colorado while playing with Boston. He went to see Watkins for a disk problem and didn't have to undergo surgery. But Burks had a daily exercise regimen for his back.

"Hopefully, Todd won't have to have surgery," Johnson said. "Hopefully, he goes and sees Watkins and Watkins says, 'I believe if you do a lot of these exercises, you should be fine.' But there's no shortcuts.

"He has an injured back with a herniation, and he's going to have to strengthen it and do exercises so it doesn't come into play. I was just trying to give Todd a little bit of insight into things he would have to do if he didn't have surgery.

"If he does have surgery, there's a lot of work ahead of him, too. But he'll have to make that decision, because he's the one affected by the injury. Only he knows how severe and how painful it is."

Having tried to come back too soon from his operation after the 2006 season, Johnson paid a heavy price and had to undergo another operation last July. He knows what it's like right after surgery to use "a walker initially to get up and move around," all the while thinking, 'Well, how am I going to be able to pitch? I can barely walk.'"

Johnson is not only experienced when it comes to symptoms and rehabilitation but also to the timing of a back operation.

"It not something you want to have during the season, because that would be too much down time," Johnson said. "I'm not his (Helton's) doctor, and I don't know the extent of it, but if surgery was needed, there's no better time to have it then getting ready to have it now, because it's going to take time to recover from it."

But with 294 wins and bound for the Hall of Fame, Johnson is proof a full recovery is possible and an elite player can again play at a sublime level. Indirectly, perhaps, that was part of Johnson's message to Helton.

"I just wanted to give a little bit guidance to Todd, as funny as that sounds with someone trying to hit a home run off me," Johnson said. "But I think anybody that has back problems, I can vouch for them, it's not a whole lot of fun.

"So I just wanted to kind of give him a little bit of information if I could. The ball's in his court. I guess we'll see what happens."