OT: What is your worst sports injury?
I have a doctor appointment on Friday to check up on my knee, and it's bringing back nightmarish memories from over a decade ago. I'm sure many of you have...memorable...tales of gruesome sports injuries, and I figure I'd share my story and invite the board to share your own stories. My tale is long so feel free to skip it and post your own if you feel so inclined.
It started sometime in 7th grade when I played soccer and basketball. Both of my knees would feel sore during and after games, and, occasionally, my left knee would momentarily lock up. Unfortunately, for whatever stupid reason, my 7th grade self neglected to mention the latter part to my pediatrician. So when he inspected my knees and saw bumps on both knees, he diagnosed me with Osgood Schlatter--inflammation of the patellar ligament, a relatively common ailment in growing boys who play sports--and told me to ice it after games, etc. and it would be fine.
Fast-forward to over a year later, when I was in 8th grade. I was playing pick up basketball when I went up for a rebound against an older kid who was on my back, and we landed with both our weight on my left knee. The pain was moderately bad in the moment, but I could walk on it fine and pretty much just shrugged it off. Over the course of the week, however, my knee swelled up to a melon size, and I eventually went in for x-rays (and CT scan, and a couple other scans that I don't really remember).
I was eventually diagnosed with osteochondritis dissecans, a condition in which the blood supply to my knee was cut off (from back in 7th grade) which causes bone to die and leaves the cartilage vulnerable, resulting in cracks in my cartilage (causing the knee to lock) and 3 microfractures in my femur (presumeably from the pick up game).
The orthopedic surgeon told me I wasn't a good candidate for surgery, and I was put on crutches "indefinitely," as weight was bad for it but passive movement helped to stimulate healing. As an 8th grader, this sucked, because there was no pain (and no cast/brace), so kids didn't really understand why I was on crutches, I didn't really understand why, and I couldn't play sports any more. Overall, I was on crutches for a 4 month period before my doctor told me I could put weight on my knee again.
So of course, day one, I played basketball outside during lunch. And of course, I got hurt. I tried to drive to the basket, made a hard cut on a crossover, and felt my knee peel like butter. Went to the surgeon and he scheduled me a month out--so back to crutches I went.
The month turned out to be only 2 weeks. I had become extremely proficient on crutches, but with sleepies still in my eyes, I tripped coming down the stairs. My knee was locked in place, and I could feel the cartilage cutting up my joint.
The surgeon pulled out an orange-peel sized piece of meniscus, drilled a bunch of tiny holes into my bone to stimulate bone growth, and inserted biodegradeable screws at the fracture sites.
After another 3 months of crutches, I finally was back to walking by the summer before high school. Everything was great for about 3 months until one day when I literally just stood up from my chair and my knee locked again. Went in for surgery to clean up some micro tears in my meniscus and the power went out right before I went into the OR, so I had to be rescheduled a week later.
Since then, the knee has been more or less fine. It gets more sore than the right when I work out, and I can "tell the weather" because it hurts worst when it rains. I was told that I'll probably get early arthritis in that knee, but I really hope early isn't mid 20s!
So...that's my story. What's yours?
Took a charge from a dude who was probably on his sixth trip through 5th grade and jammed my wrist when I hit the ground. Didn't get the call either...argh!!!!!
Are you okay?
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Hyper extended elbow. Hurt so bad I blew chunks and then my world went a ltlle dark for a few minutes.
Who is chunks and do you still keep in touch with him?
You win!
I should have known. Difficult to keep up with a guy like that...always traveling.
Damn, kick a guy while he's down with a story about a hyper-extended elbow. Harsh.
March 18th, 2015 at 10:04 PM ^
Pickup ultimate frisbee game in Santiago, Chile, my junior year of college. I was chasing my guy downfield on a long throw, leapt up and over his shoulder as he was also jumping, and D'd the disc in the end zone. Without a doubt the greatest play of my life in terms of pure athleticism*. I wish I had it on film.
After I knocked the pass away, I hit the guy's shoulder, tumbled forward and landed on my shoulder. The pain was mild right off the bat but when I stood up and tried to pick up the disc to put it back in play for my team, I realized that I couldn't lift my arm. I trotted off the field and waited out the rest of the game on the sidelines (it was almost over). Somebody helped me put my jacket and backpack on and I took the metro home. The pain increased in severity as I was riding and then walking back to my host family's house, and by the time I got back, probably 45 minutes or an hour after the injury, I was in mild shock.
I opened the front door of the house and before I'd even said hello my host mom's eyes got huge and she said, What happened? Apparently I was white and shaking slightly. I said I'd hurt my shoulder and was going to bed, and if it still hurt in the morning I should maybe go to the hospital. She said, Hell no, we're going right now.
I had to have multiple rounds of x-rays on both the injured and normal shoulders because the emergency doctors and the radiologist on call could not make sense of them. I was given a script for some serious painkillers and a sling and told they would call me in the morning, after they'd had a chance to consult with a senior radiologist.
Turns out I'd separated my shoulder backward, i.e. that my collarbone, instead of popping out and away from my chest, had somehow popped back in toward my scapula. None of the doctors had ever seen such a thing.
Arm in a sling, more painkillers, and much care not to bang into anything for three months. Also my first real beard because I couldn't shave. Good times.
*I am not a great athlete.
I have had more weekend warrior injuries than anyone deserves. Shattered finger tip (hit by a thrown softball), broken ankle (stepped on home plate and my cleat caught), two torn rotator cuffs (played way to much softball after high school, and never stretched out) and lots of smaller injuries.
My worst injury was a ruptured achilles. Nine years ago, as a last hurrah (I was 35 at the time), we decided to play a final Gus Macker. I was having the best tournament I had ever had, when I thought I had been shot. It was the strangest feeling, as if I was stepping into a bucket of quick sand. I tried to walk it off, and continue playing but couldn't. The next day I had surgery. Sucked to be me.
Plastic on my shoulder pad cracked and my shoulder screams in pain from what turns out to be a bone bruise. Goddamn that hurt and it hurt for a long time.
Another proud moment; at age 12, I was playing Mike Tyson's Punch-out on Nintendo and Mr. Sandman kicked my ass for the hundredth time. In anger, I threw the controller (accidentally) on my big toe. That hurt.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Never broke a bone in all my years playing baseball/softball until I began playing 1860's-era vintage baseball (no gloves) 12 years ago. In that time I've had six fractures in five fingers, including one on each hand last summer, which sidelined me for the season. The fractures hurt, but not playing hurt more.
Of course I'll be back out there this summer. I've still got five fingers to go!
One of the last things I did in college - my friends and I were doing a picnic at a park and a few of us were playing *touch* football. It's a goal line stand and I'm in the game and line up on defense; the other team hands off the ball and I was the only one on the line to make a stop. The guy holding the ball came charging at me and decided to slide to get by me (I'm really not sure what was going on through his head, he was the brother of one of our friends that nobody really knew), I'm right in front of him and make the stop as he slams right into my ankle. You could hear a snap from across the park (where the rest of the group was) and I go down hard. Ended up with my ankle 2 cm off from where it was supposed and with a sheared fibula. Ended up having to get surgery to fix it and I now have a metal plate and 6 screws right at my ankle.
In what can be described as the worst impersonation of a daring Rickey Henderson slide ever, I managed to break two fingers on my left hand (which sucks if you're left-handed like me). Apparently, trying to slide your hand under second base to ensure that you are not only safe but in fact possess the base itself is a terrible idea if, just seconds later, you were running full tilt. To this day, my middle and ring finger on my left hand bend in crazy ways - couldn't write for nearly three weeks, couldn't really grip a ball for about a month.
playing baseball. I sled back into first base and dislocated my shoulder and for the next four years my shoulder kept slippin in and out of place. So finally I went and got a MRI and found out I tore my rotator cuff, no cartilidge holding my shoulder blade into place, torn legiments in my shoulder, and had to have my shoulder surgically reconstructed.
Dennis Franklin 1973.
.
I skateboarded as a kid but there's no way I could do it now. Ditto water skiing and doing cartwheels and handstands.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
March 18th, 2015 at 10:18 PM ^
Nothing wrong with being a little adventurous. When my parents would visit me as an undergrad my mother was hands down the best beer pong player at the tailgate. Might have something to do with her being the only sober person there and making her partner (me) drink all the beer.
in my right leg while skiing in the 9th grade, I am rather lucky to be able to run today.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Elbow to the face = broken cheekbone + broken nose + broken eye socket x 2.
*shudder*
Or dislocated AC joint (probably more painful) during senior hockey season. Shoulder and arm locked into place and had to be re-set on the bench by the team trainer.
My high school had a spirit week during March and one of the days' events included games like basketball, hockey, football, etc. in front of the whole school in the gym. As a junior I was chosen to play dodgeball being that I was a baseball player. I had some previous knee problems like sprains and one small dislocation but never had it really checked out.
Well, during the said dodgeball game, I went to plant on my left knee to throw and as I made a throwing motion my leg collapsed making body move forward but my leg stationery. I ended up breaking my left leg in half vertically from about an inch above my ankle all the way to my knee cap. It required multiple screws and a plate making it one of the worst ever non-contact injuries the surgeons had ever seen.
To make matters worse, as I recovered from surgery at home, the first thing that was on tv when I turned it on was "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story". You could say I wasn't too big of a fan of White Goodman that day.
Isn't that what happened to Bo Jackson?
OP your knee injury will probably come back to haunt you when you're 50, mine did. Bad knee injury when I was 15, playing soccer. Now that I'm old, I still put thousands of miles per year on my bicycle, but walking up the stairs is scary. Long plane rides to Asia are torture. And if I happen to squat down for a while, I then have to think about how I'm going to stand up without risking falling over. And I'm in pretty damn good shape for 50. I need surgery but keep putting it off because...I love to ride my bike. And I'm busy.
I also tore my rotator cuff sliding back into base like another poster did, never got it repaired, now there is a point when I left my arm way over my head towards the back where I hit a wall and have zero strength to continue. And of course pain.
Playing football I helped bring down the pile and in the process of being on the ground some big ass lineman landed on my arm and broke my radius bone in half.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Broken wrist playing football in middle-school. A really torn hamstring wrestling in high-school. Dislocated shoulder playing beer-league softball. Of those, the shoulder was the worst because at my age it effectively ended my playing days.
My kneecap was forcefully dislocated by a lacrosse stick, like moved down the length of the kneecap itself. Wasn't too fun.
Also had my hand sliced open by a hockey skate because some kid was dicking around on the ice while I was adjusting a pad. Happened on Yost ice too.
And a concussion...wait, that should probably come first. I hope I didn't brain my damage.
I still suffer from this one. It was spring practice my freshman year of college (1991) and I broke on an overthrown ball. As I made the pick the receiver was off balance and drove right into my left knee bending it backwards while making numerous audible popping noises. The pain was brutal and I instantly knew I was done playing ball (I was at a Div III school). The result was a torn ACL, MCL and PCL....basically the same exact injury Willis McGahee suffered in the National Championship game.
SInce then I have had it surgically repaired twice and scoped six times. Brutal injury...especially in the early 90's.