What I do Best

OK, so what’s the most common injury that we see? That’s easy. Ankle sprains.

You know the injury. The foot turns in and you hurt on the outside of the ankle. It happens all the time, either when you suddenly change directions or when you jump up and land on somebody’s foot. 

The treatment is the same—Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation (RICE). The sooner the better. Remember, you never “walk it off.”

              We see a lot of shoulder problems too. Those can be simple and can be complicated.  I spoke last week about the need to get a proper evaluation of injuries. That is never more true than when dealing with shoulder problems. 

              There are a lot of knee problems out there in athletics as well. Most of them, when treated correctly, won’t need surgery or months of rehab. Everyone is afraid of ACL injuries but fortunately they don’t happen that often. Younger athletes, particularly girls, are prone to problems with their kneecap (patella).  Most often it is a biomechanical issue and if those issues aren’t dealt with, relief will be temporary.

What’s the most difficult injury we deal with? That’s easy too. Concussions.

Concussions are also the scariest thing that we deal with on a regular basis. During our sports seasons, there is rarely a day that one of our athletic trainers doesn’t deal with a possible concussion.

And a concussion is something that we can’t be wrong about. Make a mistake and there is the potential to negatively impact someone’s life. That’s why we’re ultra-conservative when we suspect a concussion. That’s why if there’s any doubt about it, the game is over for that athlete.

That’s also why an athlete has to go through a whole battery of tests before returning to sports after a concussion. We simply cannot make a mistake.

It’s definitely frustrating for an athlete that has had a concussion who feels fine and cannot understand why they still can’t return to their sport. We have to make sure that the brain is fully healed before allowing sports participation. 

If the brain is still healing, it is far more fragile. The 2^nd Concussion Syndrome is very real. Have a concussion on top of a concussion and the impact can be much, much more severe.

I know concussions on a first name basis. Not only do I deal with them professionally, I had what I now know was a pretty serious concussion in high school football. 

It was 1970 and I remember arriving at our opponent’s field and I remember lining up across from their best player. And that’s it. That’s all I remember. The next thing I know, we’re back home in our own locker room.

I played the entire game, on both sides of the ball, and remember nothing about it. On film, it looks like that all-state player slapped me in the head one time and maybe that was it but I have no memory of any of it.

It turned out OK.  I don’t think I suffered any long term effects from it, but in hindsight, it is a bit scary. My brain was injured and yet I continued to play. 

I don’t want to let a fear of injury and especially of concussions keep you from allowing your child to play sports. I think that’s a huge mistake. I honestly believe that some of our best life lessons come from our playing fields. 

But I do believe that we owe it to ourselves and to our children to be smart about it.  And that means seeking trained professionals to make those decisions with you.