Post by QPR Report on Jun 14, 2009 6:36:38 GMT
David James/The Observer
It's time for clubs to shoulder more responsibility for lingering injuries
The first surgery of my career has opened my eyes to football's medical side – and it is not pretty viewing
"injury-prone", labels for footballers who spend too much time off the pitch. I've never really questioned those stereotypes before but a recent operation on my shoulder – the first surgery of my career – has opened my eyes to the medical side of football, and it does not make for pretty viewing.
Last week I saw a specialist who said that his footballer clients continually voice concerns about the poor quality of treatment at their clubs – even at the highest level. It got me wondering: as players, are we in safe hands?
I have heard plenty of horror stories – a star player whose medical staff forgot to remove the pins from a broken bone, misdiagnoses that led to months of problems, outdated expertise and an overall archaic approach. Again and again I've been told about players who attempt to seek medical advice from outside their club and are either forced to pay their own costs, or refused co-operation with the treatment. And always the same conclusion – players being routinely rushed back on to the field before they are fit, only to break down again.
What I can't understand is why clubs who pay out millions in wages don't invest in the best physiotherapy available. Why risk bringing a player back too quickly, only for the problems to return? If you pay £80m for Cristiano Ronaldo, wouldn't you invest £15k in his physiotherapy? The sums don't add up.
As I see it football is once again lagging behind – physios are not up to date with the latest advances in medical care and too many appointments are still on the basis of "jobs for the boys". Factor in the pressure physios are under from managers and directors to get players back on the pitch and it's a dismal picture.
This got me thinking about Darren Anderton, casually labelled "sick note". Between 1992 and 2001, Anderton had two hernia operations, three groin injuries, three groin operations, two achilles injuries, one achilles operation, a knee injury and a hamstring problem. All of those are recurring soft-tissue problems – no broken bones – so why couldn't the medical department at Tottenham find a solution? If a footballer is getting the same injury over and again, then he's being brought back too quickly or his rehab is not being done properly.
What can the long-term effects be? Tommy Smith was the hardman of football at Liverpool, yet after a load of cortisone injections and repeatedly playing on through injuries he now needs a walking stick. There is the added complication of the players' desire not to miss games, telling the physios that things are "a bit sore, but it will be all right" – and risking long-term damage.
My injury happened 18 months ago with England, warming up on that plastic pitch, against Russia. At the time I knew I had hurt something, but I soldiered on – I was on the bench anyway. But over the next few months the soreness continued, and at times it was excruciating. I'd be saving shots and lying on the floor in agony; in the end I couldn't even do press-ups. Still, I told myself not to be soft.
It wasn't until six months ago I began to think it could be something serious. I insisted on having a scan and it showed a tear, with the specialists concerned that it could dislocate. There was no question that I needed an operation, but surgery would put me out of action for three months and Portsmouth were floating around the relegation zone, plus England had qualifiers that I didn't want to miss.
I considered delaying the surgery until after the World Cup, but the doctors said it was too great a risk. All I could think about was next season. I didn't want to miss the start of the new campaign and risk forfeiting a place in the World Cup squad. It was agreed with Portsmouth to have the operation once we were safe. But we kept losing games.
The situation was getting to me. I wasn't playing well and I began to understand what people mean by psychological effects of injury. As the operation was postponed again and again I had so many questions going round my head – how long would I take to recover? What if the surgeon made a mistake? What if I missed England games? What if I was never the same player again?
This summer those questions will still be going around my head, but at least I'll be doing something about it. I won't have a holiday break, I'll be spending my time rehabbing. And happily so; I'm working towards making sure I'm in the best possible shape for club and country.
The real concern for me is what happens to other players? I'm in the Premier League, but how will injured footballers lower down be treated? What about youth players? If top players don't always have their injuries scanned, then a club will be even less likely to spend £400 on an MRI scan for a reserve-team player. My fear is that too many footballers are in danger of becoming "Darren Andertons" and we, as a nation, will miss out on a real wealth of footballing talent.
David James has donated his fee for this column to charity.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/jun/14/david-james-football-injuries
It's time for clubs to shoulder more responsibility for lingering injuries
The first surgery of my career has opened my eyes to football's medical side – and it is not pretty viewing
"injury-prone", labels for footballers who spend too much time off the pitch. I've never really questioned those stereotypes before but a recent operation on my shoulder – the first surgery of my career – has opened my eyes to the medical side of football, and it does not make for pretty viewing.
Last week I saw a specialist who said that his footballer clients continually voice concerns about the poor quality of treatment at their clubs – even at the highest level. It got me wondering: as players, are we in safe hands?
I have heard plenty of horror stories – a star player whose medical staff forgot to remove the pins from a broken bone, misdiagnoses that led to months of problems, outdated expertise and an overall archaic approach. Again and again I've been told about players who attempt to seek medical advice from outside their club and are either forced to pay their own costs, or refused co-operation with the treatment. And always the same conclusion – players being routinely rushed back on to the field before they are fit, only to break down again.
What I can't understand is why clubs who pay out millions in wages don't invest in the best physiotherapy available. Why risk bringing a player back too quickly, only for the problems to return? If you pay £80m for Cristiano Ronaldo, wouldn't you invest £15k in his physiotherapy? The sums don't add up.
As I see it football is once again lagging behind – physios are not up to date with the latest advances in medical care and too many appointments are still on the basis of "jobs for the boys". Factor in the pressure physios are under from managers and directors to get players back on the pitch and it's a dismal picture.
This got me thinking about Darren Anderton, casually labelled "sick note". Between 1992 and 2001, Anderton had two hernia operations, three groin injuries, three groin operations, two achilles injuries, one achilles operation, a knee injury and a hamstring problem. All of those are recurring soft-tissue problems – no broken bones – so why couldn't the medical department at Tottenham find a solution? If a footballer is getting the same injury over and again, then he's being brought back too quickly or his rehab is not being done properly.
What can the long-term effects be? Tommy Smith was the hardman of football at Liverpool, yet after a load of cortisone injections and repeatedly playing on through injuries he now needs a walking stick. There is the added complication of the players' desire not to miss games, telling the physios that things are "a bit sore, but it will be all right" – and risking long-term damage.
My injury happened 18 months ago with England, warming up on that plastic pitch, against Russia. At the time I knew I had hurt something, but I soldiered on – I was on the bench anyway. But over the next few months the soreness continued, and at times it was excruciating. I'd be saving shots and lying on the floor in agony; in the end I couldn't even do press-ups. Still, I told myself not to be soft.
It wasn't until six months ago I began to think it could be something serious. I insisted on having a scan and it showed a tear, with the specialists concerned that it could dislocate. There was no question that I needed an operation, but surgery would put me out of action for three months and Portsmouth were floating around the relegation zone, plus England had qualifiers that I didn't want to miss.
I considered delaying the surgery until after the World Cup, but the doctors said it was too great a risk. All I could think about was next season. I didn't want to miss the start of the new campaign and risk forfeiting a place in the World Cup squad. It was agreed with Portsmouth to have the operation once we were safe. But we kept losing games.
The situation was getting to me. I wasn't playing well and I began to understand what people mean by psychological effects of injury. As the operation was postponed again and again I had so many questions going round my head – how long would I take to recover? What if the surgeon made a mistake? What if I missed England games? What if I was never the same player again?
This summer those questions will still be going around my head, but at least I'll be doing something about it. I won't have a holiday break, I'll be spending my time rehabbing. And happily so; I'm working towards making sure I'm in the best possible shape for club and country.
The real concern for me is what happens to other players? I'm in the Premier League, but how will injured footballers lower down be treated? What about youth players? If top players don't always have their injuries scanned, then a club will be even less likely to spend £400 on an MRI scan for a reserve-team player. My fear is that too many footballers are in danger of becoming "Darren Andertons" and we, as a nation, will miss out on a real wealth of footballing talent.
David James has donated his fee for this column to charity.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/jun/14/david-james-football-injuries
