Surgeons keep footballers playing
Thursday June 2nd, 2011
Modern treatment means that most footballers return to the sport successfully after breaking bones, Scottish surgeons reported yesterday.
An analysis in western Scotland of the fate of some 357 footballers found
that at least 85 per cent returned to the sport following treatment for
broken limbs.
The findings were reported to the conference of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Football is said to be the most accident-prone sport.
The study showed that footballers who were given conservative treatment for fractures took on average 17 weeks to return to the playing field. When surgery was necessary, just 84 per cent returned to the sport and healing took on average 41 weeks.
The doctors found that many footballers returned to the game in spite of continuing problems caused by their accidents - tolerating problems such as pain and stiffness for up to two years.
Gregory Robertson, of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, said the results "impressively demonstrate the capability of modern traumatology to restore affected areas to normality, even to meet most complex functional requirements such as in football."
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