Sports injury project

We are in planning stages for a fall sports injury series and i am fishing for some fresh ideas. obviously head injuries will be covered plenty. i'm thinking out of the box - maybe a different angle or approach you have used or seen done that i can bring to our talks as a direction we may want to attempt. one idea i was considering was holistic medicine vs. traditional treatment. i'd love to hear any thoughts and/or suggestions.

 

Not a story suggestion here, but check out this website:

http://injuryresearch.net/highschoolrio.aspx

If you're talking high school sports, lots of good data there that can probably help generate story ideas.

 

Not to douse the fire you're trying to light, but I've never heard of anyone treating a sports injury with a holistic approach, particularly because holistic approaches don't stretch back ACLs or repair cartilage. To me, and I'm a technical person by nature, game forces impacting players in a variety of sports, and the biomechanical tolerance of the part of the body typically impacted is far from explored. The details may help mom and dad decide that X equipment is what the league requires, but Johnny needs Y and needs to wear it at times when not typically worn. Another angle is the rates of the existence of injuries to the part of the body which the equipment is supposed to protect. On another front might be the urgency in receiving more than sideline evaluations and times/symptoms where it is harmful to play through pain. Concussion guides are out there, but concussions are certainly not the only injuries where more serious injury occurs with delay in treatment. I'm not sure if this helps...

 

a story I wanted to do but got laid off before I could- several college basketball players in my area have been doing yoga as part of the usual training to try to prevent injury. IU even had the entire team trying yoga last year.
Also if you are focusing this more on the high school level, ACL injuries are common, especially with girls.

 

That's a good idea, ColdCat, about the yoga.

Clone, what about a good explanation or sidebar about a high ankle sprain often heard about but not as well known as the ACL-type tears?

Is ligament replacement still big or can they repair them easier now than 20 years ago? Platelet injection therapy is gaining interest. Has protective padding changed dramatically in 10, 20, 30 years and how (aside from helmets)?

 

At a cookout tonight asked one of my buddies if he ever had a concussion in HS football. Him and another guy started riffing on all their head injuries from their playing days. These guys are in their late 20s.

So get some guys 10 or so years removed from HS football and ask them about how they handled injuries, especially head injuries, and how they would have handled it if they were more aware or how they might handle their kids playing football.

 

The holistic approach to sports injury prevention would be interesting if you could compare and contrast the needs of different fall sports athletes. Is there a different prescription for a cross country runner, volleyball player or football player? Or is it all about flexibility and strength translating into foot speed and agility, regardless of the sport?

 

What about taking it into the world of a team's athletic therapist or trainer. What their day to day is like, the multitude of injuries they have to be prepared to deal with from the extreme (Clint Malarchuk) to what they see on a regular basis. Which are the most unpredictable type of injuries to recover from or the most extrenuous, which ones hang on the longest or are the most temperamental, what serious injuries are the easiest to come back from with the least amount of long term effects. What the different levels of sports require to have on the bench at all times (grass roots to high school to rep to college to pro) in your area. The type of training they have to have and what goes into that training. Their horror stories their successes, of working Joe Blow from a broken femur back to full health and success in sport. How has their job changed in the last 10 years, Etc.

Something different anyways than concussions are bad.

 

Predictor got to where I was going, not only concussion, but let's say 30-year-old women who had those ACL tears in high school.