Are You Ready For Some Football?

A Guide to Common Football Injuries
By D. Hodari Brooks, MD

As Fall arrives the annual tradition of Friday Night Lights is ready to begin. As an orthopedic surgeon practicing here in the greater metro Atlanta area, I have the opportunity to treat a number of high school and college football players’ injuries. It has been my experience that both the athletes and the parents often have many questions regarding some of the more common football-related injuries and their treatments. This article will address some of those issues.

CONCUSSIONS - A concussion is a head injury that results in a traumatic injury to the brain. The most important aspect of the initial treatment of a concussion is to have the player properly examined, hopefully by the team physician. Usually the athlete is not knocked unconscious, however, when loss of consciousness does occur, it typically signifies a more serious injury. The initial assessment focuses on the player’s mental status which includes, headaches, any memory loss, visual problems, and neurologic problems. While symptoms are not usually severe, they can be concerning, particularly if they do not resolve quickly. In these cases follow up exams are critical to assess an individual’s progress. In my experience , there is always a lot of the confusion regarding concussions , particularly in regards to whether the athlete can be cleared to return to play during the same game. An athlete will often argue that once he feels back to “normal,” he should be allowed to return to the game. This is an area of significant controversy in orthopedic literature but it is my professional opinion that it is always better to err on the side of conservatism and keep the athlete out of the game when there is any doubt. This is primarily due to the risk of Secondary Impact Syndrome which can occur when an individual who has had a recent concussion sustains another head injury . This can cause a very serious brain injury. I therefore encourage all parents and football players to understand that physicians have to put the health of the athlete above the interests of the team.

ACL Injuries – the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a key stabilizing structure to the knee and is perhaps the most commonly feared knee injury because it results in the athlete being pulled for the duration of the current season. It also usually requires surgery to reconstruct the torn ligament. Often this injury results from a deceleration, non-contact injury. It can often take a year to fully recover from this injury and the subsequent surgery and rehab process.

Meniscal Injuries – the meniscus or cartilage in the knee can also be injured with non-contact as well as contact injuries. Unlike the ACL, these injuries can sometimes be treated without surgery in younger individuals and does not always involve the athlete missing the entire season.

Achilles Tendon Injuries – the Achilles tendon connects the large muscles of the calf to the heel bone. When an athlete tears this tendon, the result is also not being able to play for the rest of the season. Surgery is typically, but not always, performed and usually the total rehab process lasts 6-8 months.

Rotator Cuff Injuries – this is a collection of four muscles that help to power the shoulder. Most often this structure is injured when a football player attempts to make a tackle and has the opposing player “run through” the tackle, causing a sudden jerking injury to the shoulder. If the rotator cuff is sprained (not torn) then often the injury can be rehabilitated and the player can return at some point during the season. If completely torn, then treatment ranges from non-operative to surgical repair, and also typically results in loss of the season.

These are some of the more common problems that I treat as an orthopedic surgeon involved with treating football injuries. My hope is that I do not have to see any of you in my office, as I wish all of my parents and athletes a healthy successful football season. So stay healthy and good luck to all.