Zamora following the challenge by Stoke's Abdoulaye Faye
Having personally had the misfortune of having this injury I can vouch for the pain he is feeling. Although I can say I enjoyed the laughing gas they gave me! The AC joint is a common site of injury amongst athletes however I have not seen it reported so often in football. Having said that Zamora is the second Fulham FC striker to dislocate his clavicle in 6 months.
I was disappointed to see that Zamora walked off the pitch with his arm unsupported, compare that to Nani's shoulder dislocation last year and you see a different approach. They have not mentioned the severity of the injury and from the photo's you cannot see if he has the marked step deformity that typifies this injury.
If Zamora is lucky enough to have a grade I or II injury he should be fit to return in 6-8 weeks, however if he has a grade III-VI he will need surgery to reduce the joint and enable the ligaments to heal.
A typical AC surgical fixation.
I had a grade IV dislocation and surgery was required however I don't imagine Zamora will need to wait 18 months for both his operations like I did. We wish Zamora all the best for his rehabilitation.
You don’t hear about career ending injuries so much anymore thanks to the medical advances that have been made over the years and the ready availability of horse placenta… Well perhaps not the horse placenta – or maybe there’s something I’m missing here? More about horse placenta another time.
West Ham and England striker Dean Ashton has recently announced his retirement from football at just 26 having failed to recover from a chronic ankle injury. Ashton originally broke his left ankle in 2006 during an England training session (following a heavy challenge from Shaun Wright-Phillips) and subsequently missed the entire 2006/7 season.
He returned to play 35 games in 2007/8 and made his England debut under Fabio Capello, however in training for the new season in September 2008 he sustained a further ankle injury that has led to his recent retirement. Ashton underwent 5 operations in a bid to prolong his career and is still unable to walk properly despite extensive rehabilitation and independent medical advice. We wish Ashton all the best for the future.
Rumors in the press over recent days have suggested that Ashton may be looking to take legal action against Wright-Phillips for ending his career. Unfortunately the precedent for legal action of this type is already there. Most recently it was seen in the case of the Manchester United player Ben Colett who was awarded £4.3 million following a career ending challenge from Middlesbrough's Gary Smith despite not being a first team player.
What I found unsettling about all this is that it has filtered down to the ambulance chasers (did someone say no win no fee?) who actively advertise on their sites about how dangerous sport is and how you can claim for an injury you have received. Not good.
An interesting account of Jamie Redknapp's time on and off the treatment table... Some good experiences and some bad ones as well - it all makes interesting reading.
Also in a similar vein Michael Gray writes a blog for the BBC and there are some interesting injury related stories - the recent story about his hamstring rehab is interesting.
This week I have been fortunate enough to interview one of Britain’s most successful female athletes and in the interview below she shares her views on being injured and her experiences of working with different physiotherapists.
Donna Fraser is a former European Junior Champion and has won medals at the World Championships, Commonwealth Games, European Championships, European Indoor Championships, World Junior Championships and the European Junior Championships. Donna was an unlucky fourth at the Sydney Olympics in what is hailed as one of best 400m finals in Olympic history - she missed out on a medal by 0.07 of second.
Donna is currently 5th on the all time list for British female 400m runners and despite numerous injuries she has been at the forefront of British 400m running for 20 years. As a testament to her great ability at the age of 37 Donna was this year ranked as the top European indoor 200m sprinter and 5th for the 400m. Just prior to her recent retirement she won a silver medal at the World Indoor Championships in Torino.
FFS As one of Britain’s most successful female athletes how did you react to being injured during your career?
DF I don’t think any professional athlete wakes up without some kind of niggle, however my serious injuries initially never shocked me, but I had to undertake rehab, this was when it all hit home and sometimes I was very low and others quite upbeat.
FFS Did you have you own dedicated physiotherapist and how closely did you work with them during your career?
DF I’ve worked with several physios, however one in particular has worked with me for many years. He has bought me back time after time from injury and I trust him, which does help!
FFS What do you consider to be the worst injury you suffered?
DFThat is a tough question… My worst injury was breaking my ankle, but the most painful and hardest injury to recover from was my Achilles.
FFS Can you explain more about the Achilles problems you had?
DFI’ve had Achilles problems from 1995 and through Olympic year 2000 but I was able to manage it. My Achilles finally had enough while training in the US in April 2001. This was when the Achilles Saga started. I tried all kinds of treatment, from radiotherapy in Germany to a “tapping” treatment in Australia. All of which temporarily worked, but for the long term I had to have surgery. In theory my Achilles took up 9 years of my career, although I was completely out of the sport for 2 ½ years because of it.
FFSHow did you get on with the rehabilitation programs that were given to you?
DF I find rehab really boring and tedious but it has to be done in order to recover. My guru physio knew this and made some things fun for me which helped immensely.
FFS How important was the contribution of your physiotherapist in you returning to the track after an injury?
DF The contribution from my physio helped loads… He was an athlete once and knew how much he could push me and on occasions he would run with me and give me grueling tests to see where I was, which no other physio dared to do! In other words he pushed the boundaries with me.
FFS So a more involved physio is a better physio?
DF Absolutely! It is important that there is a great athlete/physio relationship…. If the athlete doesn’t believe in the physio then the healing process is not progressive and in turn if the physio doesn’t treat the athlete as an individual case, it can take twice as long to find the route of the problem. The physio needs to not only understand the physical aspect of the athlete but also his/her mental aspect.
FFS Do you feel that the injuries you suffered changed your career?
DFWell who knows? I do often think that if I didn’t get injured would I have continued in athletics as long as I did, or would I have become World Champ in 2001… I just don’t know! I do know it made me a better person and mentally stronger.
FFS Now that you are semi retired do you have any plans for the future?
DF Well I now work full time with EDF Energy. I’d like to have a break from athletics, as 20+ years is a long time. However eventually I would like to give something back to the sport and coach young athletes. Generally, I want to be “normal” for a while if that is possible! Eat what I like, train when I like etc!
Special thanks to Donna Fraser for consenting to the interview and providing such great answers. This will hopefully be the first of series of posts that will show professional athletes views on injury and how they cope with being injured.
With all the talk about player size and potential rule changes to try and stem the tide of injuries amongst elite rugby players it was interesting to compare and contrast my game last weekend with the u12’s and my games this weekend with the first and second xv.
I blogged last week that I had spent an enjoyable day in the sun - this weekend was very different and it wasn’t just the weather. The u12’s are very much still learning to play rugby and as such it is a totally different game, they also lack the size and strength to do themselves any real damage, plus physiologically at this age they are less likely to injure themselves.
Watching the first and second team this weekend the size difference between players is markedly evident and the game more closely follows the professional game with more time spent in contact and bigger, harder hits de rigueur. The injury count from this weekend was quite impressive. At the start of the game there were already limited subs due to injuries and it didn’t help when I had to stop one of them from being involved with a suspected MCL strain. Ten of the thirty players who started were injured during the course of the game plus there were two more serious injuries to opposition players (gleno-humeral subluxation and suspected clavicle fracture) it was the most challenging 80 minutes I’ve had to date.
There are fundamental differences between working in rugby and football and as someone who regularly does both I have to say I much prefer working in amateur rugby as the systems that they have in place ensure that any injured player can receive attention as quickly as possible. To explain: with rugby a sports therapist/physio can come onto the pitch during play, whereas in football you have to wait for the referee to give you permission (unless it is a head injury) to come onto the pitch - which with amateur football can be some time. Not ideal.
