A question for the medically-minded

[Marlin01]

Like all supporters of football teams, one of my concerns about my team is that a player will suffer ligament damage to their knees.

I understand that some knee recos are the result of single-impacts, but others are the result of cumulative stress on the joints.

Should players undergo quarterly MRI scans of their knees (and other areas of potential weakness) as a precautionary measure?

There is a shortage of MRI machines in WA, they cost about $1m each, should the Eagles and the Dockers purchase a machine? Would it reduce the amount of injuries our players sustain?

 

[bodazoka]

As soon as they put a cap on football staff payments we will lash out and buy two... but we wont be able to afford for a doctor on the staff payrole to use it as he will come under our football department. Mabye we will donate them to Perth hospital and have a wing named after us, the WorsWood wing or the FoldHouse.

I obviously have no idea...

I do have a worry that next year we will be hit by injuries early on and never gain enough momentum to make finals and spend another year at the bottom of the ladder.

 

[Fly_High]

I recently had an MRI on my knee after the physio thought i did an ACL.

There is a shortage of these machines. If i didn't have private insurance i would have been put on a waiting list for a year!

As it was i had to wait a week and a half for an appointment. Professional athletes get in and out without the waiting list.

I couldn't see the Eagles paying for one as they would also need the staff to use it. I think there is a bit of a monopoly on them in WA and people cash in.

My scan cost $300 can't claim any back. But on the plus side it wasn't an ACL

 

[OUT OF BOUNDS]

Regular scans would come in useful to detect degenaration of the joint that can increase the likelyhood of an ACL injury eg torn meniscus, however as has been suggested most ACL injuries occur without warning.
At AFL level, clubs have ready access to MRI scans whenever the medicos suspect ligament or structural damage. This usually occurs as soon as the
week after the injury occurs.

The other option these days is an Arthroscopy which in non-invasive and very accurate in diagnosis or structural problems. Most of the time a clean out is sufficeint to relieve arthritic pain and usually you walk out of the hospital with more freedom than when you went in. Many players do this in the off season.

 

[larrikin]

Short answer, no

Would be massive overkill.

Would be good to get us some PR to get another one into a Perth hospital (like Charlie's) that we have access to though. I suspect we have no current issue with access, as we would be paying top dollar.

 

[Audacious]

The Eagles and Dockers both get treated at a specific private hospital in Perth where they get their MRI's. They dont have to wait long either as money and fame gets you places. Having their own MRI machine would be overkill.

Pretty hard to monitor overuse injuries. Players just need to be aware of the symptoms, so that as soon as they develop them they can rest and give it time to heal before it gets worse. I currently have a bit of iliotibial band friction syndrome myself. Havent had a run in over a month and just doing some swimming to keep the fitness and endurance up.

 

[refresh]

both clubs jump the queue so it is overkill.

however a joint plane is a different issue. Sponsorship would not be difficult - the flying burger one week and the LG express the next plus say $5,000 football weekends for members at the back out of way, all boasting they had flown with the team.

no more qantas fares and plenty of room for big dean and aaron.

Glory and the Warriors could charter in the off season and i'm sure BHP etc would find some use for fly in fly out during the week

however i have no idea of the cost of a suitable plane and running costs. But i do know it would get up the nose of victorian clubs

 

[tesseract]

both clubs jump the queue so it is overkill.

however a joint plane is a different issue. Sponsorship would not be difficult - the flying burger one week and the LG express the next plus say $5,000 football weekends for members at the back out of way, all boasting they had flown with the team.

no more qantas fares and plenty of room for big dean and aaron.

Glory and the Warriors could charter in the off season and i'm sure BHP etc would find some use for fly in fly out during the week

however i have no idea of the cost of a suitable plane and running costs. But i do know it would get up the nose of victorian clubs

Good idea. I wish their was a way to make this financially viable. I'm sure both clubs have already crunched the numbers on such a plan though. Circumstances financially and through necessity may change this though at some point.

 

[lewigie]

Why would we want anything to do with Fremantle?

 

[tesseract]

Why would we want anything to do with Fremantle?

To share the financial burden with them as well as other interested groups. It simply won't be viable without other interested parties to help out. The WCE don't need the use of this 365 days a year, so why not.

Since the Eagles and Dockers play interstate every second week, this would help our team to better cope with the rigors of long travel and help in getting them up for away games, as they will be better looked after during those trips.

 

[Marlin01]

Having an expensive piece of infrustructure sitting in a hangar, bar one return flight per week would be massive overkill. Surely charter flights would make more sense.

 

[the doc]

No use to determine 'potential' for ligament damge. Unfortunately some people may (?) have a genitic predisposition (ala Lee Walker) = piss poor collagen syndrome. These are trauma issues.

May be of benifit for cartilage issues that normal screening just can't detect, ala NicNat, with his chondral problems. This is not accurately predictive of outcome for his knee, just a picture. So even with hindsight I suspect that you would have drafted him.