injuryupdate
06-04-2005, 07:47 PM
Interesting article on the Buckley surgery from AAP below.
Worth considering:
(1) surgery may be required on chronic hamstring problems, even when the MRI scan suggests that the tendon is intact.
(2) maybe ultrasound might be better at picking a rupture, as the radiologist can concentrate on the exact spot where the pain is.
(3) that most hamstring injuries will still respond to conservative treatment, even though lots of patients are now going to ask for the same surgery that Buckley had.
(4) that the media can come up with some crap, "the first player to ever have had hamstring surgery in the AFL" - since when, last month????
Article:
COLLINGWOOD doctor Paul Blackman has operated on hamstrings "a handful of times" in his 10 years as a sports physician.
"Generally, they heal very well with non-operative measures," he said.
But Blackman and orthopaedic surgeon Julian Feller quickly saw the problem last Thursday night when they opened up the back of Nathan Buckley's right leg with a 7-10cm incision.
"It was immediately apparent – surprising, but immediately apparent," Dr Blackman said.
Buckley had a tear about 1cm long on the surface of a tendon attached to the biceps femoris muscle, just above the back of the knee.
While the surgery was highly unusual, the solution was nothing more complicated than stitching up the tear with some surgical thread.
They were in and out in half an hour.
The rupture had been missed by scans because it was covered with scar tissue.
It is understood to be the first time an AFL player has undergone hamstrings surgery.
Buckley's problem will probably force a change in how medical scans assess hamstrings injuries, with the images likely to be taken at different angles to make sure nothing is missed.
The Collingwood captain was able to train fully before the round-one match against the Western Bulldogs, but had to sit out the final quarter because the muscle was too weak.
Worth considering:
(1) surgery may be required on chronic hamstring problems, even when the MRI scan suggests that the tendon is intact.
(2) maybe ultrasound might be better at picking a rupture, as the radiologist can concentrate on the exact spot where the pain is.
(3) that most hamstring injuries will still respond to conservative treatment, even though lots of patients are now going to ask for the same surgery that Buckley had.
(4) that the media can come up with some crap, "the first player to ever have had hamstring surgery in the AFL" - since when, last month????
Article:
COLLINGWOOD doctor Paul Blackman has operated on hamstrings "a handful of times" in his 10 years as a sports physician.
"Generally, they heal very well with non-operative measures," he said.
But Blackman and orthopaedic surgeon Julian Feller quickly saw the problem last Thursday night when they opened up the back of Nathan Buckley's right leg with a 7-10cm incision.
"It was immediately apparent – surprising, but immediately apparent," Dr Blackman said.
Buckley had a tear about 1cm long on the surface of a tendon attached to the biceps femoris muscle, just above the back of the knee.
While the surgery was highly unusual, the solution was nothing more complicated than stitching up the tear with some surgical thread.
They were in and out in half an hour.
The rupture had been missed by scans because it was covered with scar tissue.
It is understood to be the first time an AFL player has undergone hamstrings surgery.
Buckley's problem will probably force a change in how medical scans assess hamstrings injuries, with the images likely to be taken at different angles to make sure nothing is missed.
The Collingwood captain was able to train fully before the round-one match against the Western Bulldogs, but had to sit out the final quarter because the muscle was too weak.