Lee in hospital

[Danny]

Infected knee fells Lee
From Julian Guyer in Birmingham
August 9, 2005
Foxsports

AUSTRALIA hero Brett Lee has given the tourists a fresh fitness worry after being admitted to hospital with a suspected infection of his left knee.

Punishment ... Lee was targeted by England. Pic: Phil Hillyard
Lee, 28, was taken into hospital this morning (AEST) after experiencing swelling and discomfort.

Cricket Australia said in a statement that Lee was "currently undergoing a range of tests and receiving appropriate treatment for the condition".

Australia physiotherapist Errol Alcott told reporters at the team hotel that doctors are confident Lee will respond but that he will not travel with the team today and will remain in hospital overnight.

Lee is presently on an intravenous drip and Alcott described his condition as "comfortable".

Alcott added that the injury to Lee's left knee may have been related to a cut he sustained while fielding during last month's first Test at Lord's.

Asked about Lee's chances of playing in the third test, Alcott added: "He's 50-50 but that's what I always say."

The injury first came to light before Lee batted on Sunday when he complained of soreness.

Lee's unbeaten 43 almost guided Australia to a stunning victory in the second Ashes Test at Edgbaston, a match England won by two runs to level the series at 1-1.

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Upon further examination today Alcott decided that it was worth Lee being admitted to hospital.

It is not yet known when he will be discharged.

Australia, winners of the last eight Ashes series, are already set to be without spearhead fast bowler Glenn McGrath for the third Test of the series which starts at Old Trafford on Thursday after he wrenched his right ankle in the warm-up before play started at Edgbaston.

McGrath, who was seen hobbling in the lobby of the team's hotel, had a fresh scan overnight and Alcott said: "Glenn is proceeding as well as expected. He had a scan today and that showed extensive ligament damage, but we knew that anyway."

Were Lee, the tourists' quickest bowler to be ruled out, it would be a huge blow to Ricky Ponting's team, which does have uncapped quick Shaun Tait in its squad as cover.

Prior to Lee's injury, Australia selectors were already discussing the possibility of bringing pace bowling all rounder Shane Watson, currently at English county Hampshire, and teaming him with leg spinner Stuart MacGill instead of batsman Simon Katich and pace bowler Michael Kasprowicz respectively at Old Trafford.

Victoria paceman Mick Lewis, playing county cricket for Durham where he is replacing fellow Australian Ashley Noffke, who flew home overnight with a back injury, is another alternative.

The uncapped Lewis, 31, who took 14 wickets in two matches early season for Durham when acting as cover for Noffke, remained in England playing club cricket in Merseyside, in the north-west of the country, before returning to the Riverside.

But the ongoing availability of Lewis, due to be a net bowler at Old Trafford, has been compromised by the fact he is soon set to return to Australia, where he will be a witness when the trial into the alleged murder of former Victoria coach David Hookes reconvenes on August 22.

However, if for any reason Tait were to become unfit or the selectors felt Lewis was worth a gamble he would be available to play in the third Test which, if it goes the distance, will run from August 11-15.

Agence France-Presse

[sydunisportsmed]

Errol is obviously a guru at getting the musculoskeletal injuries good rehab, and if Glenn McGrath has just suffered a simple lateral ligament sprain then he'll get as quick a recovery time as possible.

However, now it starts to get a bit messy. If Brett Lee has a SUSPECTED infection in his knee, this is a dead set medical (i.e. not physio) problem. Dr Trefor James will be in contact with Errol by phone (but not in the next room) and I'm sure some good local docs can be seconded to help out (maybe even Chris Bradshaw, John Best or Bruce Hamilton, who are Aussie sports physicians working in England where the recognition and pay is better).

However, our netball team, our water polo teams (womens & mens), our athletics teams and swimmers etc. all won't leave the shores without a doctor. Cricket is a slow paced sport with long tours and paying for a medico would be more expensive than in other sports. However, the top players are on $1 million per year.

Isn't it time cricket entered the 21st Century with respect to medical coverage?

[hhh]

Assuming cricket injuries are similar to this study, another physio would be my option ahead of another doc. If $ are the issue why not punt the massage therapist for a doc.

Team Physicians in College Athletics
Mark E. Steiner, MD*, D. Bradford Quigley, ATC, Frank Wang, MD, Christopher R. Balint, DO, Arthur L. Boland Jr, MD

?**Abstract

Background: There has been little documentation of what constitutes the clinical work of intercollegiate team physicians. Team physicians could be recruited based on the needs of athletes.

Hypothesis: A multidisciplinary team of physicians is necessary to treat college athletes. Most physician evaluations are for musculoskeletal injuries treated nonoperatively.

Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study.

Methods: For a 2-year period, a database was created that recorded information on team physician encounters with intercollegiate athletes at a major university. Data on imaging studies, hospitalizations, and surgeries were also recorded. The diagnoses for physician encounters with all undergraduates through the university’s health service were also recorded.

Results: More initial athlete evaluations were for musculoskeletal diagnoses (73%) than for general medical diagnoses (27%) (P < .05). Four percent of musculoskeletal injuries required surgery. Most general medical evaluations were single visits for upper respiratory infections and dermatologic disorders, or multiple visits for concussions. Football accounted for 22% of all physician encounters, more than any other sport (P < .05). Per capita, men and women sought care at an equal rate. In contrast, 10% of physician encounters with the general pool of undergraduates were for musculoskeletal diagnoses. Student athletes did not require a greater number of physician encounters than did the general undergraduate pool of students on a per capita basis.

Conclusion: Intercollegiate team physicians primarily treat musculoskeletal injuries that do not require surgery. General medical care is often single evaluations of common conditions and repeat evaluations for concussions.

Key Words: team physician, intercollegiate athletics, athletic injuries, athletic medicine

[South Sydney Sports Med]

Agree that second physio should be used for more of the top teams. In the NSW Origin squad staff this year there were 4 coaches and 5 managers but 1 physio. How you can deduce that there is 5 times as much management work as physiotherapy work is beyond me.

Interesting though that cricket injury surveillance from Australia finds more injuries at home than on tour, whereas for England and West Indies teams the situation is reversed.

Cricket Australia have obviously taken a "if it 'aint broke don't fix it approach" rather than the more popular "risk management / cover your behind to prevent stuff ups approach".

Agree that a second physio would do more work than a first doctor on a cricket tour.

Last year, as I mentioned on a previous post, I spoke about this issue with an international cricketer and conceded that a doctor would probably do some very important work for a day or two on tour and then perhaps would sit around for two weeks doing effectively nothing. The player replied "how would that be any different from most of the cricketers themselves?"

[Unregistered]

What do you think Doctor John?

Errol is obviously a guru at getting the musculoskeletal injuries good rehab, and if Glenn McGrath has just suffered a simple lateral ligament sprain then he'll get as quick a recovery time as possible.

However, now it starts to get a bit messy. If Brett Lee has a SUSPECTED infection in his knee, this is a dead set medical (i.e. not physio) problem. Dr Trefor James will be in contact with Errol by phone (but not in the next room) and I'm sure some good local docs can be seconded to help out (maybe even Chris Bradshaw, John Best or Bruce Hamilton, who are Aussie sports physicians working in England where the recognition and pay is better).

However, our netball team, our water polo teams (womens & mens), our athletics teams and swimmers etc. all won't leave the shores without a doctor. Cricket is a slow paced sport with long tours and paying for a medico would be more expensive than in other sports. However, the top players are on $1 million per year.

Isn't it time cricket entered the 21st Century with respect to medical coverage?