By Jesse Welte

Did you ever wonder what exactly was tearing when a player tore his or her ACL or wonder who Tommy John was? Both of these terms refer to a couple of sports injuries, out of many, that athletes might experience at some point during their careers.

Injuries are a major setback to an athlete no matter how severe. Aside from hampering a player’s physical ability to perform in his or her particular sport, an injury can have detrimental effects on the psychological aspect of a player’s game.

“Nobody likes to be out of practice or games for an extended period of time. We, as athletic trainers, try to get the athlete back to their team as quickly and safely as possible,” said Carole Banda, the Olympic Sports Medicine Trainer at the University of Louisville.

When players have to miss time, whether it is a few days or a few months, they may feel a bit rusty when they are finally able to return to play. They have to spend extra time working hard to rehab from their injury, as well as working on their mechanics so that they can return to the level of play they were at before their injury.

There are an array of injuries that could cause athletes to have to miss time in practice and games. Some are common, frequently occurring injuries.

“Each sport has specific injuries that occur more often. For example, swimming has primarily upper body injuries to the shoulder or elbow, whereas cross country and track have primarily lower body injuries. With basketball, I will see ankle and knee sprains along with muscular injuries due to the contact nature of the sport,” Banda said.

Other injuries are very severe and require a great deal of time and training in order for the athlete to completely recover. It is especially tough for an athlete to make a comeback if his or her injury requires surgery.

“Any time an athlete has surgery, the return to sports is difficult. Depending on the nature of the surgery, it could take up to a year to return to their specific sport,” said Banda. “It is difficult for the athlete because they may never return to pre-injury playing condition due to having surgery. Time is always a factor with the athlete.”

One such injury that all U of L fans are familiar with is a torn ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament. It is the most common knee injury. Junior quarterback Brian Brohm tore the ACL in his right knee in November of last season against Syracuse. He was able to make an amazingly fast recovery and started the first game of the season.

The ACL helps control movements in the knee joint. Playing sports such as football, basketball and soccer puts tremendous strain on the ligament. If too much pressure is applied, or if the player’s leg makes an awkward pivot, it can result in a torn ACL. This injury requires surgery and the rehabilitation can take nine to 12 months. Even after rehabbing, victims of this injury must wear a bulky knee brace which can restrict the athlete’s mobility, preventing him or her from completely returning to pre-injury form.

Another well-known injury to any sports fan is that which requires Tommy John surgery. By medical terms it is called ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction. Tommy John is the name of the pitcher who was the first to receive this surgery in 1974. Before this surgery, injury to the UCL meant the end of a career. It has been one of the major advancements in sports medicine in this century, saving the career of hundreds of major league pitchers, including John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves and Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees.

According to a report by Dr. John Bergfeld, executive director of Cleveland Clinic Sports Health, this elbow injury is caused by the way a pitcher throws.

“It’s the mechanics of the way you throw. It is an unnatural motion that wears on the ligaments that causes small tears and fraying. Repeated small tears add up to one big tear.”

Any player who requires the hour-and-a-half operation to repair their UCL can begin rehab immediately afterwards. This type of injury can take an athlete anywhere from one year to 18 months to fully recover. The good news is that most pitchers who successfully return from this surgery often perform the same, and sometimes even better than they did before they went under the knife. Several pitchers have experienced increased velocity on their fastball.

According to a June 2003 USA Today article, Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs said, “I hit my top speed (in pitch velocity) after the surgery. I’m throwing harder, consistently.”

Although sports injuries are brought into the national spotlight by college and professional athletes, anyone can have them. Even students who compete in intramural activities on campus can suffer these injuries.

Sophomore sports administration major Stefan Harpe has been recovering from an ACL injury suffered in a basketball game in January playing for his fraternity, Kappa Sigma. He confirmed the physical, as well as the psychological challenges of recovering from such an injury.

“I tore my ACL in January, had surgery and then started physical therapy. I was able to jog by April with the help of my knee brace,” Harpe said. “I had never been hurt before, so sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else play was terrible. When I finally did come back, I was very hesitant and scared to go 100 percent again. Even today it’s always in the back of my head that I could get hurt again at any second.”

It can happen to you. Anyone who participates in any kind of physical activity should adequately prepare beforehand. Proper stretching and light warmup activties are encouraged before competing in any activity.