Life Threatening Injury

I was reading the latest edition of the NATA (national athletic trainiers association) news and came across the story of Houston football player D.J. Hayden, and how the quick response of his athletic trainer, Mike O'Shea, likely saved his life.  If you are a member of the NATA, I encourage you to read the story.  If you are not a member, this ESPN.com article offers a pretty good summary of the injury. 

The injury that Hayden suffered was a torn inferior vena cava.  The inferior vena cava is the large vein that carries deoxygenated blood from the lower extremity into the right atrium of the heart.  A tear of this structure results in massive internal bleeding and is a serious medical injury.  According to the story in NATA news, Hayden went up to intercept a pass and another teammate's knee hit him just underneath the sternum, right below where the protection from his shoulder pads ended.  O'Shea examined Hayden on the field and again on the sidelines, and quickly decided to move him into the locker room.  Because Hayden's signs and symptoms were not adding up with a typical chest injury, O'Shea and the team physician went ahead and called the paramedics, who decided to take him to the nearest trauma center.  The doctors at the hospital suspected a ruptured spleen or liver, but soon discovered that it was his inferior vena cava that was ruptured.  According to the article, there have not been any documented cases of a torn vena cava occurring during athletic competition.  It more commonly results from a gunshot wound or car accident.

The doctors were able to repair the rupture in his vena cava, and Hayden is expected to make a full recovery.  The doctors stated that the fact Hayden also broke his diaphragm during the injury likely helped save his life, because it allowed the blood from the ruptured vena cava to pool in his adbomen instead of around his heart.  The doctors also stated that if he had arrived at the hospital 5 minutes later he likely would have died.  This was a remarkable job by the entire medical staff, beginning with the athletic trainer.  The typical survival rate for a torn vena cava is around 5%.  You never know what may happen when you step out onto the field or court to cover a practice or game, and the actions of this athletic trainer helped save a life. 

Robert Griffin III latest knee injury

I hope that everyone had a great holiday season and a happy new year.  As we wrap up the first week of classes at Mississippi State, I thought I would talk some about the latest Robert Griffin III knee injury.  A few weeks ago, Griffin sustained a sprain of his right LCL.  He missed one week of action, but then came back and played in the final two regular season games.  This past Sunday, Griffin sustained a tear of his right ACL, likely on the play in the picture above.  There has been much debate about rather or not he should have been playing, and if the coaching and/or medical staff is to blame for this injury.

There are a number of factors that can cause an injury, and it is impossible to isolate just one factor and say it is the primary cause.  One would have to believe that the Redskins medical staff, led by Dr. Andrews, would not allow Griffin to play if they believed he was at serious risk of injury.  Due to his recent LCL injury, his knee was probably not quite as stable as it originally was, but there is no way to know if that caused the injury.  He could have sustained the ACL tear even if he was playing on a completely healthy knee with no history of injury.  A number of factors likely lead to this injury, including his previous LCL sprain, his previous ACL reconstruction of the same knee, fatigue (end of game and season), the condition of the field, and the awkward position he is in trying to field the snap.  One could argue that if the snap had been better, this injury would have never occurred.  The point is that it is impossible to pinpoint the exact cause of the injury.

The other thing I have heard several times is that Griffin can be back by the start of the 2013 NFL season because Adrian Peterson did so this year.  I'm not saying that he can't, but it is impossible to make direct comparisons.  While both players are world class athletes, this is Griffin's 2nd reconstruction of this right ACL.  Everyone also heals and rehabilitates at different rates.  It typically takes anywhere from about 8-12 months to come back after ACL reconstruction.  He has a good chance to play next year, but nobody knows for sure at this point what level he will be at.