Grateful cardiac arrest survivor offers thanks (video)
Douglas Erns survived cardiac arrest, due to the advanced care he received at Sharp. He returned one year later to thank the teams that saved his life.
March Madness, the annual NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournament, is underway. Maybe your bracket is still going strong with bragging rights and prize money on the line — or perhaps your top player just got injured.
While it’s impossible to predict the outcomes in a March Madness bracket, it is possible to better understand the types of injuries that these athletes can experience. Some of the most common injuries for high-level basketball players are sprained ankles, broken wrists, tendonitis and various knee injuries, according to Dr. Joel Smith, an orthopedic surgeon with Sharp Community Medical Group and affiliated with Sharp Memorial Hospital.
“Other kinds of injuries can be shoulder dislocations and ‘mallet finger’ — that’s when an object, like a basketball, hits the tip of the finger or thumb, causing it to bend further than it’s supposed to, and the tip of the finger looks bent,” says Dr. Smith. “In basketball, you also see stress fractures in the feet, especially in some of the larger players.”
When things get serious
There are also more serious injuries that can happen on the court, which may require more intense treatment. “Some of the big ones are Achilles tendon rupture and knee injuries — things like ACL injuries and meniscal injuries,” says Dr. Smith.
According to Dr. Smith, an Achilles tendon rupture is commonly treated without surgery, whereas ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries can be treated with or without surgery, depending on whether the athlete wants to return to play. For those who don’t, nonsurgical options are pain control and rehab. This approach focuses on reducing swelling and strengthening the muscles around the knee.
Smith says male and female athletes typically experience similar injuries, but the proportions are dissimilar.
“If you have the same-sized cohorts — one of men and another of women, ACL injuries will be more common among women,” Smith says. “It may have to do with the neuromuscular response to pivoting and twisting, and the physiological difference in women doing certain kinds of motion compared to men.”
Preventing injuries from beginners to pros
If you enjoy playing sports like basketball, there are ways to prevent injuries in athletes of all levels. Dr. Smith recommends the following:
Maintain an active lifestyle; don’t stay on the sidelines.
It’s essential to keep your body moving and use your muscles. Not doing any physical activity can weaken muscles and lead to injury.
“Your muscles and tendons adapt to your performance expectations as you increase physical activity,” he says. “And your muscles and tendons adapt, protecting you from injury.”
Set realistic goals.
Assess your current performance level, goals and trajectory.
"You're not going to run a marathon the first day you start running,” says Dr. Smith. “Determine what your goal is and then gradually increase your activity to meet that goal.”
Sleep well and eat right.
Your body needs rest to recover well. “Rest and proper nutrition are just as important as physical activity,” says Dr. Smith.
This guidance can help protect you from injury on the court, so the only thing that may get busted is your bracket, not your body.
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