FAMOUS SPORTS INJURIES

The most celebrated of sports injuries in recent times is that of Jasprit Bumrah (if we zero in on cricket) and to a lesser extent of Shreyas Iyer. Yes, both went to New Zealand for surgery to remove niggling back pain that have haunted them for quite some time and were on the brink of being brushed off their sports careers but for timely assist from BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India). It is still early days for Jasprit and Shreyas before they say good bye to their injuries; we all wish them to do that!

Lower back injury: Lower back injury can be difficult to diagnose as there are so many structures and tissues in this area. Bowling requires a lot of movement, extension and rotation, which places the back under pressure. Repetitive movements can cause low back pain to gradually worsen over a season. Muscle strains are not uncommon, as are herniated or slipped discs. Young bowlers are at a risk of stress fractures, where the repetitive loading of the lumbar spine (lower back) leads to bone damage. Symptoms usually include pain in the lower back, which can become worse when standing or arching backwards.

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How to treat it: A structured rehabilitation programme with a physiotherapist and Pilates sessions can help manage the condition and ease symptoms. Surgery is the most difficult remedy.

In 2023 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) Reece Topley of franchise Royal Challengers, Bangalore (RCB) had to be taken away while fielding as he concussed over the fence whilst stopping a ball reaching the ropes (boundary), which finally he was never able to – and as a trophy for his efforts collected a horrible shoulder injury fast forwarding his air ticket to London. Reece, sitting in his hospital bed, must be recapturing the whole chain of events over and over again, how that split second misfield had brought him heaps of misfortune. He was Jos Buttler’s goto man when England desperately needed a breakthrough in white ball cricket encounters.

Shoulder injury. The rotator cuff is a set of four muscles which help to stabilise the shoulder joint. Any damage is likely to make bowling, fielding and batting painful. Repetitive movements can lead to an overloading of tissue. As bowlers and fielders use their shoulders a lot, they are at risk of rotator cuff injuries. If one has a tendon injury, one will usually experience a gradual ache down the upper arm, whilst muscle strains are common with a sudden sharp movement.

How to treat it: A lack of flexibility and strength can lead to a greater risk of injury. This can be improved by a structured rehabilitation programme from a physiotherapist. If the problem persists, surgery is a sure option.

Tennis players often encounter tennis elbows – an elbow injury by dint of immense work load the players put on their elbows shooting cross court winners!

Sachin Tendulkar – often called the god of cricket - famously or rather infamously gathered tennis elbow injury as he used one of the heaviest bats in the international batting fraternity. The legendary Viv Richards had a heavy bat too but his muscular strength was demonic – he used to wield his bat like a pen sketching innumerable monumental batting masterpieces which the world still remembers in awe!

Sachin was his close second in pulling off many eventful innings – all of them strokes of a maestro.

Strangely enough though Sachin had his share of injuries Viv almost did never have.

Venus Williams, Bjorn Borg, Aleksandra Wozniak, Andy Murray, Juan Martin Del Potro. Do you know what is common among these star players? All had tennis elbow injuries at some point in their careers.

How to treat it: If the symptoms are related to tennis, let the experts evaluate the tennis technique or the movements involved with the tasks to determine the best steps to reduce stress on the injured tissue.

Injections. The doctor might suggest injecting platelet-rich plasma into the painful tendon. Dry needling — in which a needle pierces the damaged tendon in many places — can also be helpful.

Ultrasonic tenotomy. Under ultrasound guidance, a doctor inserts a special needle through the skin and into the damaged portion of the tendon. Ultrasonic energy vibrates the needle so swiftly that the damaged tissue liquefies and can be suctioned out.

Surgery. In concerned individuals when the symptoms have not improved after six to twelve months of extensive non-operative treatment, surgery is advisable to remove damaged tissues. Such procedures can be performed through a large or through several small incisions. Post surgery care is vital to complete recovery.

Such injuries (sprains and strains, knee dislocations, shin bone shear, rotator cuff dislocations, fractures) do happen across all sport; Basketball, Football, Soccer, Baseball, Ice Hockey, Golf and Snow-skiing to name a few. Concussions happen in a heap amongst ice hockey players whereas basketball causes most of the above-mentioned injuries. Snow skiing injuries could be fatal – we still are not sure whether Michael Schumacher would ever race on wheels –and there are innumerable golf injuries which turned out to be more dangerous than what met the eye. Ask Tiger Woods.

Timely care. While care leads to more bread and butter, absence of it brings misery to these wonderful sports people! We are happy that the latter is few and far between.

Get more valuable information here Mild Traumatic Brain Injury or Concussion & Sports | Marasco & Nesselbush (m-n-law.com)