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American Morning
Winter Sports Injuries Abound
Aired December 04, 2002 - 08:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, whether you're skiing down an icy slope or sledding down a snowy hill, winter fun certainly can be dangerous. We want to let everybody know that we know that firsthand right now. Our own Paula Zahn found out last weekend, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to tell us how to keep you safe and your family safe when you are on the slopes -- first of all, how is she doing?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: She is doing pretty well. She had an operation, and I am going to tell you all about that, and show you some pictures as well.
But let me just make a couple of comments about winter sports in general, since -- I know you're a winter sports guy, and a lot of people are, and it's a very common activity. Let's take a look at some of the most common injuries.
First of all, winter sports, why snow skiing actually topping the list, and ice hockey is actually at the bottom of the list. You know it's pretty serious stuff when ice hockey is actually at the bottom of the list. But 278,000 or so snow skiing accidents every year. About 40,000 ice hockey accidents, some of these can be pretty severe accidents. Now, no question, it's important to stay in shape to stay active during the winter seasons, even though it's cold outside, but you have got to be smart about it. The orthopedic surgeons we talked to recommended cross-country skiing. Not as fun necessarily, but certainly a good sport to keep you in shape.
HEMMER: Listen, you have to stretch, and you have to stay active, and you have to warm up, and you have to respect the mountain.
GUPTA: Respect the mountain.
HEMMER: So many times, I see my friends get into trouble because they overextend themselves.
GUPTA: Speaking of that -- let me show you, this is a knee. We are going to talk a little bit about Paula's injury here. This is actually the bone that comes above the knee, and the bone that comes below the knee, and they go together like that. Now, Bill, you're a skier. A lot of times...
HEMMER: Boarder.
GUPTA: OK, right. We'll get into that as well. We will talk about boarding injuries. But when you're fighting the edge, so to speak, a lot of times that involves knocking your knees together, and when you do that, essentially, what you're doing is sort of putting some pressure, I don't know if you can see this, but putting some pressure from this bone here onto the tibia bone which is right here.
And a lot of times, this little piece of bone can fracture right off. It is one of the most common injuries one can actually see when actually snowboarding. Let's take a look at the X-ray. This is the inside look at Paula's knee.
I don't know how well you can see that, but Bill, that exact thing I was just showing you, the bone above the knee, the bones below the knee, this piece of bone here has been fractured right off, right off the top of the tibia, the top of this bone here. That is called a tibial plateau fracture, one of the most common injuries actually seen with skiing injuries.
Let's take a look now if we have the after-the-operation film. Look at all this metal in here. You remember that piece of bone that was over here like that? Look, back into normal alignment. Done with titanium screws, a plate going across that entire tibia bone. This is a common operation.
HEMMER: You say common, but it looks vicious.
(CROSSTALK)
GUPTA: I think Paula described it pretty well. She said it was a rather innocuous fall, which is how people typically describe things, but that innocuous fall can lead to that sort of thing, and a pretty big operation, Bill. Behind here, these little clips, back here, actually the skin staples. She is going to have a very classic sort of scar on her knee. You will see this, a lot of people have this that are skiers.
HEMMER: So all of these are screws, essentially...
(CROSSTALK)
GUPTA: These are screws, this is a plate going across here.
HEMMER: Do these ever come out or do they stay?
GUPTA: Well, for the most part, they will stay. Sometimes, if they cause problems later on, they can actually come out.
HEMMER: Recovery on something like this is...
GUPTA: Yes, good question. Six weeks, non-weight bearing, meaning no weight at all on that leg for six weeks.
HEMMER: Is that crutches, is that a wheelchair, is that the bed?
GUPTA: No, crutches for the most part. You just got to keep that leg -- three to six more weeks after that, of what they call partial weight-bearing. So you are still probably using crutches. You can put just a little bit of weight along that bone, and a lot of that diffused.
Let me mention one other thing as well. You know, it's interesting when you talk about sports injuries, the equipment has become so good, the boots, the bindings, and stuff...
HEMMER: Even have parabolics now.
GUPTA: The parabolics, so what you have seen is almost a 100 percent decrease in ankle injuries, 100 percent decrease in leg injuries, but all that force is now transmitted up to the knee. And so you see a 200 percent increase in knee injuries over the past couple of years. I talked to her orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Robert Hunter, who was saying he is just seeing a lot of those out in Colorado this year.
HEMMER: Wow. Well, listen, stay careful on those slopes if you're out there.
We -- I know you talked to Paula's doctor, and we wanted to pass along a little note to our viewers here from Paula, who says to everyone, "Thanks to all of you for your kind wishes. In answer to your questions about my progress, I am uncomfortable," as you stated, Sanjay, "but I am feeling better. And although when I see you again, I will be sporting the latest in orthopedic accessories, and I am sure going through the metal detector at the airport is going to be an event." Yes, it will.
"I can't say I will be back on my feet again anytime soon, but I can say I will be back with you on the program as soon as I can."
And we miss her, and we certainly wish her the best of luck. Get back here soon, OK? Best of luck to you and your family as well. Thank you, Sanjay and thanks for taking us through that good stuff.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 4, 2002 - 08:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, whether you're skiing down an icy slope or sledding down a snowy hill, winter fun certainly can be dangerous. We want to let everybody know that we know that firsthand right now. Our own Paula Zahn found out last weekend, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to tell us how to keep you safe and your family safe when you are on the slopes -- first of all, how is she doing?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: She is doing pretty well. She had an operation, and I am going to tell you all about that, and show you some pictures as well.
But let me just make a couple of comments about winter sports in general, since -- I know you're a winter sports guy, and a lot of people are, and it's a very common activity. Let's take a look at some of the most common injuries.
First of all, winter sports, why snow skiing actually topping the list, and ice hockey is actually at the bottom of the list. You know it's pretty serious stuff when ice hockey is actually at the bottom of the list. But 278,000 or so snow skiing accidents every year. About 40,000 ice hockey accidents, some of these can be pretty severe accidents. Now, no question, it's important to stay in shape to stay active during the winter seasons, even though it's cold outside, but you have got to be smart about it. The orthopedic surgeons we talked to recommended cross-country skiing. Not as fun necessarily, but certainly a good sport to keep you in shape.
HEMMER: Listen, you have to stretch, and you have to stay active, and you have to warm up, and you have to respect the mountain.
GUPTA: Respect the mountain.
HEMMER: So many times, I see my friends get into trouble because they overextend themselves.
GUPTA: Speaking of that -- let me show you, this is a knee. We are going to talk a little bit about Paula's injury here. This is actually the bone that comes above the knee, and the bone that comes below the knee, and they go together like that. Now, Bill, you're a skier. A lot of times...
HEMMER: Boarder.
GUPTA: OK, right. We'll get into that as well. We will talk about boarding injuries. But when you're fighting the edge, so to speak, a lot of times that involves knocking your knees together, and when you do that, essentially, what you're doing is sort of putting some pressure, I don't know if you can see this, but putting some pressure from this bone here onto the tibia bone which is right here.
And a lot of times, this little piece of bone can fracture right off. It is one of the most common injuries one can actually see when actually snowboarding. Let's take a look at the X-ray. This is the inside look at Paula's knee.
I don't know how well you can see that, but Bill, that exact thing I was just showing you, the bone above the knee, the bones below the knee, this piece of bone here has been fractured right off, right off the top of the tibia, the top of this bone here. That is called a tibial plateau fracture, one of the most common injuries actually seen with skiing injuries.
Let's take a look now if we have the after-the-operation film. Look at all this metal in here. You remember that piece of bone that was over here like that? Look, back into normal alignment. Done with titanium screws, a plate going across that entire tibia bone. This is a common operation.
HEMMER: You say common, but it looks vicious.
(CROSSTALK)
GUPTA: I think Paula described it pretty well. She said it was a rather innocuous fall, which is how people typically describe things, but that innocuous fall can lead to that sort of thing, and a pretty big operation, Bill. Behind here, these little clips, back here, actually the skin staples. She is going to have a very classic sort of scar on her knee. You will see this, a lot of people have this that are skiers.
HEMMER: So all of these are screws, essentially...
(CROSSTALK)
GUPTA: These are screws, this is a plate going across here.
HEMMER: Do these ever come out or do they stay?
GUPTA: Well, for the most part, they will stay. Sometimes, if they cause problems later on, they can actually come out.
HEMMER: Recovery on something like this is...
GUPTA: Yes, good question. Six weeks, non-weight bearing, meaning no weight at all on that leg for six weeks.
HEMMER: Is that crutches, is that a wheelchair, is that the bed?
GUPTA: No, crutches for the most part. You just got to keep that leg -- three to six more weeks after that, of what they call partial weight-bearing. So you are still probably using crutches. You can put just a little bit of weight along that bone, and a lot of that diffused.
Let me mention one other thing as well. You know, it's interesting when you talk about sports injuries, the equipment has become so good, the boots, the bindings, and stuff...
HEMMER: Even have parabolics now.
GUPTA: The parabolics, so what you have seen is almost a 100 percent decrease in ankle injuries, 100 percent decrease in leg injuries, but all that force is now transmitted up to the knee. And so you see a 200 percent increase in knee injuries over the past couple of years. I talked to her orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Robert Hunter, who was saying he is just seeing a lot of those out in Colorado this year.
HEMMER: Wow. Well, listen, stay careful on those slopes if you're out there.
We -- I know you talked to Paula's doctor, and we wanted to pass along a little note to our viewers here from Paula, who says to everyone, "Thanks to all of you for your kind wishes. In answer to your questions about my progress, I am uncomfortable," as you stated, Sanjay, "but I am feeling better. And although when I see you again, I will be sporting the latest in orthopedic accessories, and I am sure going through the metal detector at the airport is going to be an event." Yes, it will.
"I can't say I will be back on my feet again anytime soon, but I can say I will be back with you on the program as soon as I can."
And we miss her, and we certainly wish her the best of luck. Get back here soon, OK? Best of luck to you and your family as well. Thank you, Sanjay and thanks for taking us through that good stuff.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
