Profile: Toenail Injuries
Before the pain
2nd of November 2009.
Subungual Hematoma is present underneath the nail of the left big toe
Down 16-8 in our three-on-three match up yesterday afternoon, I drove to the basket, pivoted, and made a fall away jumper off the glass to bring our deficit down to six.
However, when I planted my off (left) leg, I suddenly felt a pop. A pop that I didn’t really feel until I hosted my jumper.
I immediately dragged my leg, hobbling to the other end of the court, before coming to a complete stop and clutching my shoe and injured left big toe.
It’s been like this for the last six years.
On three different occasions.
Welcome to my basketball life.
“Injury…an athlete’s worse nightmare…” (Michael Jordan’s Playground)
Visions of Michael Jordan on the ground clutching his broken left foot come to mind when I think of this quote taken from this old Jordan video. It is a passage that speaks a volume of truth as when it comes to the topic of injury, no one is immune. It can hit anyone at any time, and yes, even to the great ones.
A couple of weeks ago, newly acquired New Orleans forward-center Emeka Okafor sat out all of his team’s Pre-Season games because of a “strained toe on his right foot.” It was an injury that was misunderstood by many as something minor. But in an interview with Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears, Okafor defended his cautious nature.
Spears shared:
“You can ask anyone that’s had a toe injury, it sounds super weak and it sounds like an insignificant thing,” Okafor said. “But that’s your foundation. You can have a nice house, and a foundation has a crack in it and then it’s all for naught. The whole thing comes crumbling down.
“People don’t realize how much your toe has to do with your movements. That’s carrying your whole weight. If something is off that carries your whole weight and you’re not careful, it’s something that can trickle and cause other things to mess up. The season is a marathon, not a sprint. You want to give your body a chance to not only heal short-term, but long-term.”
Now that WAS solid advice.
One that I didn’t take after initially injuring the same toe the day before yesterday.
Defining and treating an injured toenail
In a basketball setting, subungual hematoma (Sub pertaining to under and ungual for nail. While hematoma is the term used for a localized collection of blood.) usually occurs when a sudden change of movement forces the toenail(s) to jam into the shoe. The sudden impact then causes several small vessels to break, which then flood the nutrient bed with blood underneath the nail. A gradual shade (e.g., blue, black) then develops as the supply of nutrients needed to sustain the toenail are cut off—effectively killing a portion or the whole toenail.
In cases like mine, this sudden feeling can be likened to a “pop” or “feeling like the whole nail came off,” before the initial pain subsides. About an hour or two later, it may also be difficult to place pressure on the whole injured foot as doing so would cause pain to the toe–brought about by the trapped blood underneath the toenail. Numbness on the toe is also to be expected as well as pain to the injured toe if pressure is applied. This would pretty much rule out shoes for a while.
Possible remedies (depending on the extent of the damage) would include visiting a physician as soon as possible, “evacuating” the dead blood in the toenail via an incision or drilling a hole into the toenail, and in more extreme cases, the extraction of the toenail itself.
In the event of an extraction, prescribed antibiotics as well as regular application of topical medication is advised.
Remember, “fungus never takes a vacation and you shouldn’t either” when it comes to applying the topical cream.
Wish me luck at the doctor’s today…
Update:
3rd of November 2009.
After drilling two holes (or was it more?) into the toenail in order to evacuate the blood, the doctor seemed hopeful that the toenail could be saved. I on the other hand, being a veteran of this injuries on two other occasions, am not that optimistic.
We will know in a week’s time.
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Now playing: Jars Of Clay – Love Came Down At Christmas
via FoxyTunes
