The Body Explained | Hockey Injuries

Warren Foegele left the game with assistance last night after knee on knee contact Lauzon’s knee seemed to strike Foegele’s knee on the outside more and causing that valgus stress that is seen very commonly in MCL sprains/tears The knee did not seem to give as much as guys like Marchenko the other day which is promising but cannot rule out any ligament or meniscus injury of the knee Any time there is a big blow like this it is important to rule out a tibial plateau fracture (pictured below) among other fractures, so X-Rays were likely taken A simple contusion is a diagnosis of exclusion so we will wait to see Foegele’s timeline

Noel Acciari left the game after this collision but later returned which is good news It seems the injury came from the knee to the head in what we call an axial loading pattern injury This mechanism in general is concerning for a cervical (neck bone) fracture of spinal cord injury; this definitely did not happen as he returned but is just a general tidbit It can also cause concussions very easily which is likely why Acciari got checked out Wonder if he will deal with some stiffness or neck strain symptoms later on

Devin Cooley of the Flames left the game with a LBI after the collision seen below His left leg extends out and gets caught in an awkward position and he collapses on top of it First glance had me thinking more adductor strain but the way he falls on the leg could mean more knee ligament (MCL/ACL) or meniscus injury It does seem to get too stuck underneath him but it hard to tell Could be looking at a more than a day-to-day situation but hoping that is wrong

Likely some sort of grade 1 MCL sprain for Marchenko given the mechanism and timeline Given at the time of injury his skate was not stuck in the ice could have prevented an ACL injury with it Grade 1 injuries have returned to play in as little as 10 days but Kirill will probably wait till he is pain free and feels stable

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Sam Steel of the Stars received an “injection as part of his treatment” What does that mean? It could mean several things Most often, this means a corticosteroid injection. Corticosteroid injections switches off inflammatory genes which reduces pain and swelling. The steroid takes effect over a few days, and a "steroid flare" (more pain for 24–48 hours) can happen first. I have been giving a ton of these on my current school rotation The trade-off is that inflammation is part of normal healing, so suppressing it may in theory slow repair. 🚨The steroid also does not reverse structural damage! An injection does not repair tissue. Other possibilities are platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or an anesthetic-only diagnostic injection. Diagnostic anesthetic injection involves numbing a specific spot, such as the hip joint, helps identify the pain source. If pain goes away, the joint is the likely source. PRP is when the player's own concentrated platelets are injected to try to stimulate healing. It has been tried for adductor injuries that don't respond to rehab, but evidence is limited (@DrJesseMorse is a good follow for this stuff) What does this tell us in Steel’s case? Steroid injection directly into a fresh muscle tear is controversial, so this injection 2 days after an injury points to something to more than a simple tear Bursitis or tendon irritation respond well to injections, and can lead to a return of play in as little as a week Reviews note that a midseason corticosteroid injection may be considered specifically to speed return to play for players with recurrent pain. Steele had a hip/groin issue this March, so this is very much in play Overall, a quick return (days to about 2 weeks) suggests the injection was used to manage pain or inflammation in a minor or chronic problem so he can keep playing. A longer absence suggests the injection was diagnostic or supportive alongside a real structural injury.