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Injured Athletes Getting Help From Clinic

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By KATHERINE SMITH

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 26, 2008

TAMPA - Sam Jones Jr. looked half asleep as he worked his way into the waiting room at the Florida Orthopaedic Institute (FOI) on Saturday. Jones, a starting middle linebacker for Tampa Bay Tech, needed the aid of crutches to maneuver his way into a chair.

Jones found himself at the medical facility less than 10 hours after helping his Titans team defeat Sickles. He injured his left knee in the third quarter of the game.

"I twisted it making a tackle," Jones said. "I heard something pop."

Jones' mother, Latonya Riley, filled out the necessary paperwork, while her son watched ESPN's "SportsCenter," waiting to see the orthopedic surgeon.

"We're praying that he's just got a bruise," Riley said. "I don't know what he'd do if he couldn't play. That's his heart, football."

Jones is one of the many walking wounded taking advantage of a free clinic open to all high school players throughout the football season. They make their way into FOI's Telecom Parkway office, some limping, others rubbing sore shoulders.

On average, the doctor on call sees 15 players every Saturday. That number increases as the season progresses.

The free clinic, which includes a doctor's exam and X-rays, runs through the end of the football season, but also is open to other fall sports athletes, including cross country and volleyball. In the same game Jones injured his knee, teammate Maurice Hagens suffered an MCL strain and might not play in tonight's game against Freedom. Tampa Bay Tech coach C.C. Culpepper sends all of his injured players to the sports clinic.

The clinic's goal is not just to get athletes back onto the playing field, but to make sure they are seeking treatment immediately so they can get properly diagnosed and into an appropriate rehabilitation program. If the athletes require further evaluation and treatment, FOI will fast-track them to get them in to see specialists quickly.

"Our goal isn't to necessarily get them back sooner, but to get them back as soon as they're ready," said Seth Gasser, a doctor at the clinic. "We don't want to rush them back because obviously that has serious consequences for recurring injuries. But with appropriate treatment, we can usually get them back quicker than years ago when they may have played or tried to play with pain and done more damage and not gotten appropriate rehabilitation."

Gaither starting tailback Jarvis Giles endured questions about his toughness while sidelined the past three weeks with a groin strain. When Giles injured his leg in the Aug. 29 Kickoff Classic game against Durant, the team's trainer told him he'd be out three weeks. Giles thought he could play through the pain.

"It's been hard watching my team get beat and I can't do anything about it," Giles said. "But the trainer said I could really mess up my leg if I came back too soon. I could tear it and then I'm done."

For the most part on Saturdays, Gasser and his colleagues deal with the run-of-the-mill football injuries - bruises, contusions, strains and sprains.

"They are relatively minor things," Gasser said. "It's when you have the serious injuries that it really matters they get proper treatment."

Sports medicine is a constantly evolving science. A couple of years ago, a torn ACL usually meant an athlete would be sidelined for about eight to 12 months. Now, an athlete with an ACL tear could be back on the field in as little as five months. Gasser performs approximately 150 ACL reconstructive surgeries a year.

At the sports clinic, the injuries vary in degrees of severity. Certified athletic trainer and strength and conditioning specialist Aaron Ziemba said on any given Saturday they see "anything and everything."

"We typically see one ACL injury per Saturday," Ziemba said. "It's very unfortunate."

Saturday, that was Jones, who is no stranger to knee injuries. Last year against Armwood, Jones tore the MCL in his left knee. He spent six months rehabilitating it.

Jones left Gasser's office Saturday on crutches and with a date with a technician for an MRI. Based on his initial exam, Gasser prepared him for the worst.

"They said it looks like his ACL," his mother said. "It doesn't look good."

That's the downside, having to tell a player his season - in some cases his playing career - is over.

"That's always tough," Ziemba said. "Our goal is to get them back on the field as soon as we can, so it's always tough when you have to tell a player their season is done, or in some cases their career.

"For some of these kids, football is their life."

There are upsides, though, such as when a player comes back from a serious injury and excels in the sport he or she loves.

"I get to know the kids very well, and any time they have an injury and we get them better and they go back on the field and perform well, it's really satisfying," Gasser said. "To see them come off the field with that big smile on their face and give you a high five, you know you've helped them."

Reporter Katherine Smith can be reached at (813) 259-7860 or ksmith@tampatrib.com.

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