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Post by wez on Feb 20, 2008 21:15:18 GMT 1
I had this removed today so i'm free atlast. Stiches out in 2 weeks and then i will start planning my comeback.
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Post by wez on Mar 5, 2008 17:18:55 GMT 1
Stitches came out today and my range of movement measured in at 20 degrees from straight, my other arm is 10 degrees so its almost back to normal tbh it was always a bit bent even before the injury but i will continue the mobility work until its the same as my left. So the plan is now to gradually slide back into my full training routine by June and if all is well perhaps have a bit of a lob sometime in August. Keep your fingers crossed guys and maybe you will see me back in action....
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Post by sam on May 27, 2008 15:47:57 GMT 1
Hey wez how is the re-hab going now??? are you still going to be back in august???
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Post by wez on Jun 4, 2008 21:05:24 GMT 1
Well Sam in answer to your question, i threw jav today! 35 throws mostly around 45m coming in from the 8m spot. The elbow feels basically ok, but i'll know for sure by tomorrow. Anyhow a very positive start and my pull through is already far better technically than before.
I'll have one sesh per week and play it by ear, so lets see what fortune brings me....i know i could throw much further right away but there is no sense in coming back too soon because if i re-break it that will be the end for good!
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Post by sam on Jun 5, 2008 11:32:46 GMT 1
wez that's excellent progress considering this time last year you thought it was all over permanently!!!
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Post by wez on Jun 5, 2008 13:39:43 GMT 1
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gill
Ivanov
Posts: 9
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Post by gill on Jun 20, 2008 9:54:59 GMT 1
Wez: Very pleased to see your progress. Could I ask who did the surgery for you please and where ?
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Post by wez on Jun 22, 2008 20:17:28 GMT 1
Hi Gill,
Thanks and in answer to your question i can't remember the name of the surgeon for the original OP except that it was a youngish female surgeon in Helsinki Toolo hospital. I could probably dig her name out of the paper work though.
If you don't mind me asking why the interest, have we met?
PM me for more details
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gill
Ivanov
Posts: 9
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Post by gill on Jun 22, 2008 22:59:14 GMT 1
Hello Wez, I'm Felix's mum and we have met at some past competitions. Thanks so much for responding. Felix has a stress fracture in the olecranon which re-opened at the BUSA's. It was mis-diagnosed some years ago as an 'impingement' and recently as a 'spur' - all totally incorrect. According to his current specialist in Sheffield, Felix has been throwing with a fractured elbow since winning the ES nearly 7 years ago..... Hence our enquiry to you about your recent surgery, and your recovery which is going so well. We would be grateful if you could dig out the lady surgeon's name for us, as Felix only has surgery as an option if he is to continue with the spears. Also if you could tell us why you were recommended this particular surgeon.
With very many thanks and all good wishes for your return to the fold.
Gillian Libretto (Mrs. Hatton)
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Post by wez on Jun 23, 2008 10:11:54 GMT 1
Hello again Gill, I'm really sorry to hear it! I haven't really had much contact with Felix but i'm well aware of his recent progress and i really feel for him! It sounds horribly similar to my plight, having been a low 60m man for a long time (with a dodgey undiagnosed elbow) i made some very significant progress in training winter 2006 but it seems the extra power i gained only served to push my injury over the edge. He would do very well to get it sorted out before he ends up in my situation. I am fairly certain that i had been carrying a series of Olecanon fractures for the last 3-4 years and it eventually progressed into a total brake. Apparently for some people the fractures never fully heal without surgical intervention due to the tension caused by over tense forearm and tricep muscles etc It pulls the break apart all the time so the fractured ends cannot get close enough to heal. What happened in my case with surgery was that i did have a good surgeon lined up privately to do the job (i chose him based on the fact he did such a great job on, my knee 3 months earlier) but my insurance company were too slow processing the claim. I waited 10 days with it before i gave up and just went down to A&E and left it to the roll of the dice. When they put me under i didn't even know what procedure they were going to do! It turned out very well however (you can read about what they did above) and i have made sure to follow my recovery very gradually but always with making measurable progress week on week. I will have a look at the paper work tonight and PM you the details but there is actually another guy i have been recommended who is an elbow specialist and has done several spear chuckers in the past. (also in Finland) I'll find him out too if you like. In the meantime i suggest that Felix stays away from anything that causes tension in the area, like back jerks or heavy (fast)bench press, bent arm pullovers and javelin of course. One thing that i have found helpful has been to work on my shoulder mobility so i get a better 'over shoulder' pull, before it was very tight and the javelin came wide around the side of my shoulder or i had to pike my body away to get the jav through straight. There is a stretch where the hands are placed on the jav and you pull it from infront to behind and back, previously i could only do this with a 100cm grip distance and now i use 40cms and my shoulder has become much more mobile in the throw. Don't hesitate to ask more or send me a PM, or if Felix wants to ask directly i'll help as much as i can. Don't worry though this is not the end of the world and if he can get it sorted before it progresses further hopefully he can get back into action sooner rather than later. All the best, Wez PS one thing to bear in mind is how the fractures have come about in the first place. It is almost certain that Felix will need to change some things either in training or technically to avoid re-injury in the future.
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gill
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Post by gill on Jun 23, 2008 17:22:20 GMT 1
You are a star, Wez - thanks so much for all this. We have alerted Felix to this site so he can talk to you directly.
We are very grateful for all this information and for your comments, and congratulate you on the systematic and precise way you have kept a record of your injury and subsequent surgery. It is of immense value to all the Javvers, who being in the UK, may not be properly diagnosed or looked after. All throwers must take head of everyone's experiences, and broadcasting your recent trauma has certainly brought out some very important issues about the care and management of javelin-throwing athletes.
It is clear to us that Felix has been let down by a number of orthopaedic specialists over the years, both NHS and private. Just this March, after a good winter training season of mid-70's but with an elbow still aching badly, Felix had an MRI which again was read as an 'impingement and a spur" so was actively encouraged by the consultants involved to throw through the pain at the BUSA's because, quote: "you will get no soft tissue damage and you can always have a small op. at the end of the season if it is still troubling you".... An MRI done in Sheffield straight after the BUSA's, under Professor Christer Rolf, showed and "extension of a stress fracture in the olecranon over a number of years and that the edge of the stress fracture on the inside of the olecranon is abrading the ligament". This was compared to the MRI in March, and the stress fracture was clearly evident. Just overlooked entirely, so too the swelling around the ligament which had been called the 'spur'..
Incidently Felix was given a cortisone injection in March straight into the elbow under a CT scan ( they said to get him through the season....), which of course has no affect on stress fractures at all.
We assume you are based in Finland, Wez? Since the UK seems to be approaching a new "Dark Ages", we are certainly looking outside the country for Felix's treatment. Unfortunately, as good a diagnostic physician and sports injury surgeon as Prof Rolf is, he is not an elbow man for this kind of specialist surgery, which may involve bone grafts in Felix's case. Incidently, Prof. Rolf is Swedish......
We'll keep you posted re. Felix's progress, and everyone else interested in this kind of injury.
Best wishes for your recovery - we are so pleased that all is going so well for you.
Gillian and Les Hatton.
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Post by Caroline on Jun 23, 2008 22:05:11 GMT 1
Incidently Felix was given a cortisone injection in March straight into the elbow under a CT scan ( they said to get him through the season....), which of course has no affect on stress fractures at all. We are far too swift in this country to use cortisone injections for aches, pains and any old injury. I remember Rosie's chiropractor telling us that in the US and Canada you are only allowed to have 2 cortisone injections in your lifetime - the 3rd one will put your doctor in jail! Hopefully both Felix and Wez will be soon throwing their javs out of sight!
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Post by wez on Jun 24, 2008 8:22:43 GMT 1
Gill, Thanks for the kind words and yes i am based in Finland nowadays although i maintain my Uk status. I have been in touch with a physio (and javelin thrower) friend of mine who has suffered from the same thing and he reccomends 'Ilkka Antti-Poika' of Orto-lääkärit in Helsinki center area www.orto-laakarit.fi/yhteystiedot.phpThe site is in Finnish but anyway you can find the contact details there and the doctors will be fluent english speakers. Apparently this guy is a big name in elbow surgery for throwers so it might be a good idea to get in touch with him even if its just a telephone appointment i'm sure he will be able to give you a good evaluation of the options. I don't know if there is an easy solution to Felix's trouble but if anyone knows it will be them. As to my recovery its still not yet guaranteed and i'm taking things one step at a time but if things do work out for me its a positive vibe. I know John Lundman had the same thing as a youngster and he came back and has not re-injured but then he was a kid when it happened. Fingers crossed Wez
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Post by sam on Jun 24, 2008 10:09:07 GMT 1
Jon lundman injured his elbow at around the U17 age group and then went on to throw just under 66m with the 800g.. i understand he has had a shoulder injury this season which has prevented him from competing...
i had wondered what was up with felix after he had been throwing so well at the start of the season.. it's a shame this injury has come at this time, but he is still young enough for it to be fixed and for him to return..
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gill
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Post by gill on Jun 26, 2008 17:29:38 GMT 1
Very many thanks again, Wez. We are looking at all the possibilities for Felix at the moment. I've been emailing a Dr. Randall Viola at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vial, Colorado, who is a hand/wrist and elbow specialist, and says although Felix's particular injury is unusual, it is treatable with minimal intrusion and gives healing time 2-3 months. That's pretty good and very appealing, but Colorado is many miles away..... So too, is the Melbourne Hospital, Australia, where there are a number of specialist sport injury surgeons who list their athletes according to which sport they are from; what injury they presented; what the diagnosis was; what treatment was carried out; how long the recovery period, and whether or not the athlete returned successfully to their sport. Pretty impressive to say the least. However, I may have the wrong emails from the websites because so far no-one has responded to our enquiry. Japan also boasts sports injury surgeons specialising in elbows. Where are they in Britain?
Of course, Europe is so much closer, so we would be looking very seriously at surgery in Finland, as you are suggesting, especially where there are so many Javelin throwers. I note the surgeon of Orlo-laakarit in the Helsinki Centre (where Toolo Hospital is?) but wondered if you had found the name of the lady surgeon who repaired your arm so well?
Hope training is getting better and better for you, if but a tad slow. Better sure than sorry.....
All the best. Gillian.
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