With the football team paralyzed by injury Technician Sports Editor Taylor Auten sat down with Associate Athletics Director of Sports Medicine Charles Rozanski to discuss common football injuries.
ConcussionNotable players: Russell Wilson
Redshirt Freshman Russell Wilson was knocked out of the South Carolina game in the first quarter with a concussion. Concussions occur when the brain is jarred with force inside the skull to the point that it temporarily affects the way the brain operates. According to Rozanski, “It’s like having to reboot a computer in some respects.”
Concussions are generally divided into three grades:Grade 1 – Person does not lose consciousness but may seem dazedGrade 2 – Person does not lose consciousness but experiences confusion with no memory of the eventGrade 3 – Occurs when person loses consciousness for a brief period and does not recall the event
Source: www.muhealth.org
Knee injuriesNotable players: Toney Baker, Javon Walker
One of the most vulnerable spots on the body, particularly for running backs, is the knee. In 2007, Toney Baker suffered a season-ending knee injury that required arthroscopic and reconstructive surgery. Rozanski divides knee injuries into two categories — contact and noncontact.
Contact injuries occur when the foot is planted and the knee suffers a blow. Non-contact injuries involve the athlete decelerating or moving the leg in an unnatural way.
Rozanski said the structure of the knee lends itself to sports injuries.
“It’s a bone on top of a bone, and the ligaments that hold it together can certainly get damaged,” Rozanski said. “That’s why we see a lot of ligament injuries in football.”
AnkleNotable players: Willie Young, Jamelle EugeneThe ankle joint is on of the most fragile joints on the body, and it receives barely any padding. Currently, Jamelle Eugene is sidelined with an ankle injury, and Willie Young missed the William & Mary game due to an injury to his ankle.
Rozanski said the playing surface can often affect injuries to this part of the body. Whether the surface is a turf field or natural grass as well as conditions such as moisture all impact the likelihood of ankle injuries.
CoreNotable players: Donald Bowens – back fracture, Anthony Hill – pectoralis strainAlthough
Although the core isn’t nearly as vulnerable as joints like the knee and ankle, it is still a common area of injury for football players. Donald Bowens and Anthony Hill, the leading receivers of 2007 and 2006 respectively, have both been sidelined this year from injuries to this area. Rozanski said players can get hurt virtually anywhere in a sport like football.
“The body isn’t designed to absorb some of the energy we throw at it,” Rozanski said. “In football, your dealing with a collision sport so virtually any part of your body could potentially get injured. It’s all kind of a matter of physics.”
