The condition is called avascular necrosis, and it is as bad as it sounds.

BY: ERIC DUHATSCHEK

No one knows its exact cause, but the disease can be devastating, especially to professional athletes and especially to professional athletes who happen to be National Hockey League goaltenders who rely on their hips to play the modern butterfly style.

Avascular necrosis occurs when normal blood flow to bone matter is interrupted, causing the deterioration and ultimately the death of bone tissue. It is said to have been a factor in the death of the pharaoh Tutankhamun, and in 1994 it ended Bo Jackson’s multisport career. Almost 20 years after Jackson underwent hip-replacement surgery to briefly keep his career alive, the usual advice that doctors give professional athletes stricken with the disease is “good luck with the rest of your life.”

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