Monday, September 17, 2007

The butcher's bill.

My post this morning got me thinking about all the injuries I sustained playing rugby for 12 years. so top to bottom here they are (this list does not include stitches or any "owie" that did not require medical attention of some sort).

Concussions (3): Three that were verified by a doctor and ended up with me getting a cat scan. There were several other knock outs, black outs and times when I got my bell rung.
Mandatory 2 weeks out.

Broken nose (twice): the first time I broke it in Aspen, CO. Damn thing bled for 36 hours. I set both of these myself, and so didn't technically require medical attention.. got it pretty straight too. No time lost.

Chipped teeth: my dentist, not happy about my rugby career. No time lost.

Dislocated Jaw (3x): see above. No time lost.

Torn Middle Trapezius: I considered myself lucky to tear a muscle here. I got High-lowed at a practice, and ended up landing on the left side of my head and rolling forward. So that my nose touched my right pec. I thought I'd broken my neck. Out for a season.

Seperated AC joint: Hit a steel sprinkler head with my shoulder during a game at KU. They have better fields now, but in the old days, this kind of stuff happened all the time. missed 3 full weeks.

Seperated SC joint: One of the most painful injuries I've had. This is one of the reasons my time in Chicago was so miserable. Took six weeks before I could do much of anything.

Torn Rotator cuff: this one ended my career.. once I decided to see a Doc about it. I played with the torn cuff for 2 years, mostly because I knew it would be the end. It's been 3 years since the surgeries to repair it and I'm still dealing with it. Two weeks out with in initial injury, end of career after repair.

Broken ribs: 2 or 3. Quoth the doc "Looks like you've broken a few ribs here." I didn't ask for a count. The pisser of this one was that I couldn't leave the game. I played 10 odd minutes of rugby with broken ribs because we didn't have any subs left. Luckily this happened in the last game of the year, so I had plenty of time to heal.

Torn Hammy (grade 2): Would that I discovered foam rolling when this happened. Missed 2 weeks.

Grade 2 lateral ankle sprain: This one was down right stupid. I rolled my ankle playing ultimate at a summer practice. I woke up the next morning with my ankle purple with a knot the size of a grapefruit on the outside of it. Spent 2 weeks on crutches.

Achilles Tendinitis: painful and annoying. See below.

Plantar Fasciitis: one of the most annoying injuries ever. Never hurt so badly that I missed practice let alone a game, but always hurt. I ended up taping my feet for the last two years I played.

2 comments:

Christine said...

Hmm, funny :) I never heard it called "the butcher's bill" I'll have to steal that line. Personally...

dislocated elbows, ribs, jaw, fingers.

broken arm... and I'm missing the pointy bone on the inside of my left ankle. A running back took it with her through the hole 2 seasons ago.

Other minor things I can't really remember...

J.B. said...

The "Butcher's bill" comes from Admiral Nelson. When we wanted to know the number of men killed in a battle, he'd ask "What's the butcher's bill for today." Seemed appropriate.