Denard Span receives cortisone injections in back, "revving it up" soon

Denard Span started some light physical exercises after receiving cortisone injections in his back last Monday.

"Just running, jogging on a treadmill and playing catch," Span said. "The back feels pretty good. We're getting there."

With rehab assignments under way or getting started for Jayson Werth (fractured left wrist), Anthony Rendon (left quad strain) and Ryan Zimmerman (left foot plantar fasciitis), Span's plans to return to game action for the Nationals haven't been revealed yet, but the 31-year-old will resume baseball activities soon.

"I haven't done much," Span said. "I haven't swung a bat or touched a bat, so it's kind of hard. I feel better, but it's kind of hard to tell where I'm at. I think the next couple of days I'm going to be revving it up and seeing where I'm at."

Span received a good diagnosis when he flew to Dallas to see a specialist just before the All-Star break.

"When he came back with the news that everything was fine with my back, it was definitely a sigh of relief," Span said. "Just a good feeling that I won't have to get back surgery and get my back worked on."

Span indicated there remains a chance he will need another round of cortisone depending on how his body reacts to it. It's the first time he has ever received the anti-inflammatory.

Span underwent two abdominal procedures before the season - hernia surgery in December and core muscle surgery in March - which delayed his start of the year until April 19.

"I think a lot of this is just stemming from the injuries I had earlier in the year," Span said. "Just not being strong in my core. I had two surgeries in three months and came back pretty soon. I think a lot of it is stemming from that and changing my posture, a lot of compensating. So we've been working a lot on just trying to correct a lot of things that we didn't get a chance to do before I came back from spring training."

Span is batting .304/.367/.430 with five homers, 15 doubles, 22 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 59 games this season.