Kevin Ware's Broken Leg

There has been a lot of press recently covering the Louisville basketball player, Kevin Ware, and his broken leg. If you haven’t seen the youtube coverage, the replays on the news or hear everyone talking about it then you have been living in a media bubble, because this story has gone viral. It certainly isn’t every day that you see a person’s bone sticking out of their leg. This can be attested to by his teammates and those of the players on the Duke team.

So, you might be wondering why a perfectly healthy young man could break his leg so severely. The bottom line is, it all has to do with the angle and mode of injury. In Kevin Ware’s case, you can look at his jump and see his landing and the way his ankle twisted out from under him to tell that was not a good landing. The commentators were initially saying that it was a nasty sprain before they saw the bone hanging out.

The truth is, that in a lot of these injuries, there can be a sprain initially, but if the momentum carries the injury farther, the sprained ankle becomes a torn ligament, which can then become broken bones. This is a step-by-step process because your ligaments protect your joint and hold them together, once they are gone, there is nothing holding that joint together anymore. Once your joint is no longer held together, it leaves your bone unprotected because they move over the joint and if moved far enough they snap. It is a very intricate system held together by a network of intricate stabilizers that once they are removed, there is no stabilization.

For Kevin Ware, this is an unfortunate event because he will be out for the rest of the season. However, his support of his team and putting them first has been unwavering. It has been a true testament to what the word teamwork means and he continues to push forward. His recovery road is long, but he will make it through with the support of his family and team.

If you or someone you know has broken or injured their ankle, it is important that you see your local podiatrist. If you live in the Boston or Newburyport, Massachusetts  area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your injury. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.