Category Archives: Knee

Ankle/Foot, Football, Knee

Tua Tagovailoa’s right ankle injury.

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Tua Tagovailoa, an American college football quarterback of the Alabama Crimson Tide, injured his right ankle during the 4th quarter of the SEC Championship against Georgia. The injury happened when offensive lineman Jonah Williams backed into Tua and stepped on his right ankle as Tua was attempting to make a throw. Tua could not walk off and was carted to the sideline. He did not return to the game. His injury led to a crazy touchdown drive by his backup, Jalen Hurt.

After x-rays and a MRI he was diagnosed with  a right ankle high sprain, which means that he injured the ligaments between his tibia and fibula (the syndesmosis).  This injury is treated with surgery to align and hold the bones while the ligaments heal.   

Before his ankle sprain, Tua has been dealing with a knee sprain for about a month before he injured his right ankle. The right ankle injury was the reason that he was completely locked him out of the game.  His orthopedic surgeons believe that the most recent procedure to his right ankle will be the one to keep him in good place for his championship. Tua is expected to be back in two weeks, but this time in a much better position in terms of his ankle recovery. While it’s nice that Tua is not kept off from playing for too long, he is taking a huge  risk by returning after such a short time of recovery, especially since he is recovering from two injuries now, an ankle and a knee sprain.

Baseball, Knee

Goran Dragic Swollen Right Knee

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The Miami Heat’s point guard Goran Dragic underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Wednesday for what was described as a swollen right knee. The Heat announced the 45-minute surgery was to “clean up his knee.” The point guard had been dealing with a lingering problem throughout the season that caused swelling in his right knee.

Two weeks ago, Dragic underwent a small procedure to have the fluid drained from his knee, but the pain and swelling returned. It’s not clear what the problem is and the odds of surgery helping.  If there are degenerative changes in the knee, arthroscopic surgery might not be better than simulated arthroscopic surgery. 

As reported, the procedure should sideline Dragic for two months, but will provide a more thorough fix to the problem.

 

ACL Injuries, All Blogs, Football, Knee

Carson Wentz ACL Recovery

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Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Carson Wentz  remains on the injured list 9 months after surgery to reconstruct his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and repair his lateral collateral ligament (LCL). Wentz tore both ligaments jumping into the end zone with opposing players hitting both sides of the leg.  

The ACL is a ligament that connects the femur to the tibia at the center of the knee joint.  It helps stabilize the joint when planting the foot and changing directions (pivoting). ACL tear is one of the most common injury in sports  that feature a lot of pivoting. The LCL stabilizes the outside of the knee. It helps stabilize the side to side motion of the knee. This ligament is different because it is one of the few in the body that do not heal on its own.   People that play pivot sports may choose to have it reconstructed for more effective pivoting when they return.

ACL reconstructions heal in 1 year.  Most of the healing is completed by about 6 months.  If motion, strength, and agility are regained at 9 months, some people will return at that time. It was reported that Wentz plans to return for the start of the season, 9 months after the injury. .

Wentz has started to participate in drills and exercises in the team’s training camp.  He remains sidelined in team scrimmages as the team wants him in “controlled environments” limiting the possibility of reinjury. It is reported that he may sit him out for the duration of the preseason.