Real Salt Lake’s center back David Horst recently announced on Instagram that he underwent surgery for a torn Achilles. He fully tore his right Achilles tendon while playing for the Real Monarchs on June 26. He will be out the remainder of the season. His Instagram post states: ”I underwent a successful surgery and I am expected to make a full recovery . It can be very difficult to return to the same level of play after an Achilles tendon rupture.
Article created by Alexa Ryder
Philadelphia Eagles Defensive end Brandon Graham had a high ankle sprain Christmas night in a game against the Oakland Raiders. A high ankle sprain is a tearing of some of the fibers between the two lower leg bones below the knee (the tibia and the fibula). A regular ankle sprain is a tearing of some of the ligaments between the leg bones and the foot bones. Brandon returned for the post-season games and helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl.
He had surgery on May 1 due to “slow healing” and hopes to be back in training camp on July 1st. Since ligaments and bones don’t typically heal in two months, this may be a procedure that uses heavy suture between the two bones (the tibia and the fibula) to reinforce the ligaments and help bear the load. The idea is that will make it more comfortable to get back to high-level sports sooner. Surgery hurts, there are risks, and subjective factors such as confidence and vulnerability are also important. This type of surgery should be considered experimental. We need more data to be sure this type of surgery has a good balance of risks and benefits. Data comparing surgery to simulated surgery would be necessary to control for the powerful forces of adaptation and resilience. Professional athletes seem on occasion to opt for different treatments than most of us, perhaps due to the pressure of returning to play again as soon as possible.
This article was created by Alexa Ryder and David Ring.
Soccer legend Neymar, who plays for Brazil’s national team and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), broke his small toe metatarsal and sprained his ankle against Marseille on Feb. 25. He was carried off the field by stretcher after an inversion trauma (rolling his ankle inward) while chasing down a ball. The preliminary X-ray did not show any broken bones, but PSG stated further inspection with an ultrasound and computed tomography scan discovered a crack in a bone in his foot, sprained ankle and a grade 1 muscle injury in his quadricep.
Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team made a joint decision for surgery. The metatarsal is the long bone that joins the middle of the foot with the toe. Most fractures at the base (nearer to the ankle) of the small toe metatarsal heal without surgery. Some fractures occur in a specific area known to have trouble healing. Surgery is considered for those fractures. He also suffered a sprained ankle, but the severity is unknown.
It’s possible the decision for surgery was intended to speed up the recovery for the approaching World Cup in June. The idea that surgery speeds bone healing is a fallacy, particularly a non-displaced fracture that cannot be seen on an X-ray. Sometimes surgery is necessary to get a bone to heal. But for bones that can heal naturally, the mending occurs over the same time course whether there is a metal device holding it or not. While the metal can provide extra support, if the fracture is not healed, there is a risk not just of re-fracturing the bone, but also ripping out or breaking the metal device.
Neymar had surgery Saturday, March 3 to insert a pin into the cracked bone in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Bleacher Report described the estimated recovery time as 2 ½ to three months, presumably referring to the time until he will be allowed to play soccer.
Bone healing is not a switch that is flipped. It takes a full year for a bone to get to 100 percent strength after fracture. Most bones get to 80 or 90 percent strength within about three to four months. There will be some vulnerability in the bone and some risk of re-fracture if he chooses to play in the world cup. Many athletes accept such risks for such important games in their lives.
This article was made by Alexa Ryder and David Ring
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