Soccer Injuries-Part 1

People familiar with soccer know that it is a contact sport that can be hard on the body. Besides the running, jumping, quick starts and stops, there is also contusions, twists, sprains, and bruises. I had been pretty lucky throughout my soccer playing days. Sure when I was a kid, I had the two broken wrists as I described earlier. And I had my share of ankle sprains, groin pulls, and sore hamstrings. But I had never had any major injuries in the many years I played.

My first major injury happened as an adult playing in the CVSA. Our team captain was a member of the CVSA board which lead to a neat opportunity. There was a British Navy ship that was going to be docking in nearby Hampton. The men of the HMS Richmond wanted to play a soccer game against a local amateur team. Our captain, Mario, was able to get the Galaxy onto the pitch for a friendly.

The game was set for a Saturday at Bryan Park. There were more spectators than usual at this game. My dad had come into town to watch and there were various family and friends from both teams at the game. The match was really a fun one. I thought I had a pretty good game with an assist and a goal.

During the course of the game, I had a breakaway. I was driving down into the penalty box and was leveled by an opposing player. The referee decided it was not a foul but upon video review (the game was being taped), it was definitely a foul. When I went down, I landed on my hand and hurt my thumb pretty bad. I kept playing though. Soccer players are like that. We just keep playing and deal with the injuries after the game.

We ended up winning 4-3 and afterwards we all hung out in the pavilion to socialize. I was not in a socializing mood though because my thumb was throbbing and was black and blue. I put ice on it and did not hang out much. My dad and I went home and he left to go back to NOVA. Now I know that immediate black and blue from an injury is not a good sign.

The next day my thumb was still hurting a great deal. I decided I better go to the Patients First to get it checked out. Melissa was out of town at a conference so she was missing all the fun. At Patients First, they did an xray and said that I had broken my thumb and sent me to a specialist. So the next day I went to Advanced Orthopedics (my second time at AO). The doctor informed me that I needed surgery. He also told me that since he was going on vacation later in the week that he would need to fit me in the next morning.

So I had injured myself on Saturday, went to one doctor on Sunday, the specialist on Monday, and was being operated on Tuesday. The surgery was relatively minor but any surgery takes its toll on the body. I had what was called a "game keepers repair." I had a co-worker drive me to surgery and pick me up when it was done. I was sent home with pain medicine and a soft cast.

It was challenging doing things with one hand especially since I had hurt my dominant hand. I went back to Advanced Orthopedic for physical therapy. The therapy went well and I regained almost a full range of motion. Not 100 percent though. I can still bend my left thumb much more than the right one that I injured.

Next time I will describe another injury that is more typical of athletes.