Love Heals

Chapter 2

When Emilio’s ankle twisted under him, it was as much a shock to him as to Sarkodie, whose leg it was that brought him down. After that there was just pain and more pain. The world seemed to fade in and out, with colored spots dancing in front of his eyes for variety.

All this for a twisted ankle? He remembered thinking in amusement before he blacked out completely.

*****

“It’s not twisted, it’s broken,” a voice said nearby and he could hear the coach’s grave voice saying something in reply but he couldn’t quite make out what. He tried to open his eyes but his lids were heavy and he couldn’t lift them.

“Wha-..” he tried anyway and the talking stopped. And then there were hands on him, feeling his wrist for a pulse he supposed; cool fingers on his forehead.

“Milo?” he heard. That was definitely Coach Arena’s voice.

“Y-y..” the words would not come out. His tongue was so heavy.

“Don’t talk. They had to sedate you. You are okay. You’re in the hospital. Everything is fine,” the coach said, his voice soothing. Emilio relaxed a fraction. He still wanted more answers though. Like why couldn’t he move? And why couldn’t his eyes open?

*****

(Reuters Health) – Most soccer players who break a bone will return to the playing field and compete at the same level as before their injury, a new study from Scotland suggests.

On average, it took injured players in the study 15 weeks to get back to their full playing ability, with leg fractures requiring more time away from the sport than broken arms, the researchers found.

“Soccer players, managers and coaches now have a realistic picture of what to expect following a fracture during soccer,” said Dr. Gregory Robertson, an orthopedic trauma resident at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, who worked on the study.

“This allows them to plan team selection as well as patient rehabilitation,” he told Reuters Health.

Fractures make up about one in ten of all soccer injuries, the researchers wrote in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Dr. Jason Dragoo, a sports medicine doctor at Stanford University in Redwood City, California, praised the study’s analysis of various types of soccer fractures and their effects — but cautioned against assuming the results would be similar for other sports.

“While it may be tempting to apply these findings to other athletic populations, we can really only say that this appears to be good news for soccer players,” he told Reuters Health in an email.

For the new study, Robertson and his colleagues tracked any broken bones in more than 517,000 people aged 15 and older living in the Lothian region of Scotland.

Between July 2007 and July 2008, the researchers recorded 367 soccer-related fractures in club and recreational players, with a majority — 68 percent — involving the upper limb, including arms and shoulders.

More than 95 percent of the injuries occurred in nonprofessional athletes, most of whom were men.

In August 2010, the same athletes took part in phone interviews inquiring about their return to soccer, their skill level before and after the injury and ongoing problems related to their broken bones.

Robertson’s team found 86 percent of players had returned to soccer within two years of the injury — and 83 percent were playing at the same level as before or higher.

People who fractured a bone in the leg, ankle or foot took an average of 26 weeks to return to activity, compared with nine weeks for a broken forearm, wrist, hand or finger.

Upper limb breaks were twice as common as leg fractures, but injuries to the lower limb led to more surgeries and more persisting symptoms, besides a longer break from the sport.

Two years after the injury, 39 percent of players reported ongoing problems related to their fractures — but only one-fifth of those found their playing ability impaired as a result.

Players who broke their clavicle, wrist or shin bones were least likely to return to the sport, the study found.

“With shin fractures, these are substantial injuries,” which could explain the decision to leave soccer, Robertson said.

But two-thirds of people who did not return to soccer after breaking bones cited personal reasons, such as fear of re-injury, rather than ongoing pain or stiffness as their reason for quitting, he pointed out.

Players who had surgery for their fracture took 34 weeks on average to return to the game, versus 11 weeks among those who were managed non-surgically. The former were also far more likely to have ongoing symptoms and impaired playing ability.

The findings suggest a more conservative approach may sometimes benefit patients, said Dragoo, who was not involved in the study.

“While some conditions must be treated operatively, it may behoove both the patient and surgeon to consider non-operative treatment strategies when such an option is available,” he said.

Emilio’s brow furrowed in concentration as he read the Reuters article. On the one hand, he was happy to know that there was a good chance he’d be back on the field sooner or later. On the other hand, a minimum of eleven weeks??? That was like…a long time. And if he had surgery…even longer. Emilio looked up searching with his eyes for the bell that would summon the nurse. He needed to have a really in depth conversation with his doctor right the fu*k now.

*****

“What can I do for you Mr. Da Costa?” the doctor asked hands in pockets, back straight. She reminded him of another health care professional he’d met while still at the Academy. She’d been the feisty, take charge type too. Emilio had followed her around like a lost puppy from the day he clapped eyes on her at the beginning of training. She was a trainee physiotherapist, with a very serious demeanor which did not at all go with her pretty face. Emilio wasn’t the only one who tried to flirt with her. Most everyone on the team did.

There weren’t many girls their age around camp, and Rachel was by far the prettiest with her long flowing brown hair, slightly curly at the ends and naturally wavy. Her skin like Godiva chocolate, smooth and unblemished.  Her long coltish legs, feet sensibly clad in mocha Mayari Birkenstocks and khaki shorts. Her sensible white blouses… She was difficult to categorize. Too pretty to be called nerdy but the unfashionable clothes and square glasses proclaimed her one of the dork people. The voluptuous figure underneath however, the long legs, small waist tapering to wide shapely hips, the double d bre*sts, long neck; heart shaped face, pouty lips and large liquid brown eyes…they shouted s*x on a stick.