I worried about IT's health, but never related his injury to his aggressive style of play. That seems to be the case for super-athletes that play with reckless abandon -- like a Steve Francis or Derek Rose -- and blow out their knees.
My friend's cat, ironically, had the same condition as IT. Since he was around 2 y/o, he had chronic pain and walked with a limp. Steroids and other medications weren't really effective, and the option of surgery (same procedure, minus human) sounded like it was far from a guaranteed fix.