The good news on E.J.

by jswen on Dec 6, 2009 11:04 PM CST

Childress said after the game on KFAN, that EJ had a fracture in his leg. I don't know a lot, but from what I do know, this is generally better than a knee injury. I doubt he'll be back this year, but let's all hope it isn't a career ender. If anyone has more info on Ced and Tryell, let us know. It looks like they both may have suffered minor concussions. Heal up soon EJ!

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No offense

but it looks to me like his knee is a mess, multiple of not all ligaments torn

by hickenizgriz on Dec 6, 2009 11:09 PM CST reply actions

Given the image of his leg on TV

There is absolutely no way he sees the field anytime soon, if ever. Major, major bummer. I’m not sure if he fractured his tib-fib, or something else, but damn that was ugly. Appreciate the optimism though.

Purple is the new black.

by steezah on Dec 6, 2009 11:11 PM CST reply actions

Don't say dumb things

If you don’t know what you’re talking about, don’t call this good news. This is BAD. B-A-D.

This is a serious fracture of his leg. Most likely, his playing career is over and he hopefully not walk with a limp.

by medicineball on Dec 6, 2009 11:26 PM CST reply actions

Looks like vkings.com are reporting broken femur for Henderson…I think Jasper Brinkley will fill in nicely though. Here’s a few highlights from him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=577UilMnbKQ

by Skoaldybi on Dec 6, 2009 11:40 PM CST reply actions

Femur???!!!

Damn that takes a lot of force. If that’s true, I don’t expect to see EJ on the field ever again.

Purple is the new black.

by steezah on Dec 6, 2009 11:43 PM CST up reply actions

Why do you say that?

Do you have some knowledge of this stuff, or just taking wild guesses. I’ve seen & heard of playres layers have come back form femur fractures to play again the following year. Although the last one I recall was a while ago. Do you know something I don’t

by puddnhead on Dec 6, 2009 11:53 PM CST up reply actions

Broken vs Fracture

The difference is in degree. Fractures can be recoverable, a broken femur is a lot more serious.

Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!

by DCPurple on Dec 7, 2009 8:00 AM CST up reply actions

A fracture means that the bone did not completely break

A break means that the fracture runs all the way through the bone. Breaking a femur is not as bad as you are making it out to be. He will not be back this season but he will be able to play next. I have dealt with broken femurs in the past and after a couple of pins and some time chilling out it’s like any other break. The only real issue is that you lose some of your bone marrow when they put the rod in. This can cause complications later as it is one of the largest suppliers of blood to you body.

by Grime on Dec 7, 2009 8:23 AM CST up reply actions

thank you for setting things straight

that the implication that a broken femur is not “recoverable” is unfounded. I thought that was untrue, but do not have the expertise to state it definitively. It looks like others, though, have no problem making definitive statements like they know what they are talking about, when they probably really don’t.

My understanding/recollection is that there may be up to 6 months to heal from the more serious fracture (break), and then rehab would be required. And there could be vascular setbacks, as you state. So I’m actually less assured he can come back next season, at least not for the start. But this assertion that his career will be almost certainly done, based on the fact it is a broken femur and no other knowledge, is IMO grossly misinformed and misleading to everyone. So unless you actually KNOW about medicine, I wish those that keep saying or implying this would STOP.

by puddnhead on Dec 7, 2009 9:42 AM CST up reply actions

A fracture IS a break

There are varying degrees of fractures though ranging from “Simple” or “Greenstick” to " Compound open." I’m a former EMT and I still work in healthcare. I can’t speculate on how severe his fracture was based on the video other than to say knees don’t bend that way. It’s obviously pretty serious. They weren’t holding traction on it on the way out of the stadium, which may be a good sign.

Yeah, I know this is a tib-fib pic and not a femur.

"Is it normal to wake up in the morning in a sweat because you can't wait to beat another human's guts out?" -Joe Kapp

by less cowbell, more 'neau on Dec 7, 2009 12:05 PM CST up reply actions

Actually I had the comound fracture on the chart to the tib fib

And you are correct they are the same but as people were using them it made sense to say it the way it sounded. However, I would think in 9 months he would be able to resume football with good rehab. I don’t know what his x-rays look like though and with out that you can’t really ever truly state how bad a break is. I will state this I have dealt with a length wise fracture of the femur and have seen people walking on it in four months. That was a pretty serious fracture and pretty much involved the removal of all the marrow in that bone before it could be set with pins and rods.

by Grime on Dec 7, 2009 12:30 PM CST up reply actions

Aparently

Because reports are that EJ will stay overnight in the hospital in AZ as a broken femur can potentially even be life threatening if compounded. As it was not a compound fracture, I think his hospitalization was more of a precaution.

by Jepp The Viking on Dec 6, 2009 11:45 PM CST reply actions

Yes, there is often a lot of blood loss, the femu is very vascular.

If it is nothing more than a femur fracture, healing time would be 3-6 months. Then rehab & strength training … that is probably the best case scenario.

by puddnhead on Dec 6, 2009 11:49 PM CST up reply actions

Yup,

More to the point, your femur is the home to the vast majority of bone marrow. Thus, breaking it open is very very very bad. Please, I could care less if he plays this season as long as he is OK in relative terms.

by Jepp The Viking on Dec 7, 2009 12:06 AM CST up reply actions

Agreed, let's just stop talking about him playing again this season. Period.

There is no way that will happen.

by puddnhead on Dec 7, 2009 9:43 AM CST up reply actions

He is being kept in the hospital to monitor for possible fat or marrow emboli which are life threatening. As far as bone marrow goes, most of a person’s blood cell producing marrow in actually in what is call flat bones. These bones make up the pelvic girdle. He shouldn’t have much body wide vascular issues, but it is possible that his femur could have blood supply issues that prevent it from healing.

Jared Allen is to football what Jason Voorhees is to Lake Crystal.
Percy Harvin is Devin Hester, except someone very smart decided to teach him how to catch and run routes.

by SDviking on Dec 7, 2009 9:51 AM CST up reply actions

I really feel for this dude, as someone who has had a leg/knee injury I have nothing sympathy for him. My prayers go out to him for a speedy recovery.

by Daniel P on Dec 7, 2009 12:33 AM CST reply actions

Here here...

forget about whether he plays next year or not. I hope he can at least walk and run with his kids in the future.

by midnightwonder on Dec 7, 2009 7:41 AM CST up reply actions

+1000

That’s what’s most important, that he’s not crippled by it.

by DCPurple on Dec 7, 2009 8:01 AM CST up reply actions

Not trying to be negative

But Brinkley’s pass coverage isn’t the greatest. Thats what scouts said made him a mid round pick. He really excells in rush defense, but lets hope he proves them all wrong!

by hickenizgriz on Dec 7, 2009 9:28 AM CST reply actions

I already mentioned this in one of the other threads.

But all of us from the Cardinals blog felt bad for Henderson and we did not like seeing him get hurt like that, especially when it was a hit from his own teammate.

We all hope that he gets better soon.

Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.

No band-wagoner fans allowed, pick a team and stick with em, throughout the good and the bad.

by JoeCB1991 on Dec 7, 2009 1:33 PM CST reply actions

FYI

If you want more understanding about femur fractures http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/90779-followup is an excellent article. Its say he should be back to pre-injury condition in about a year, but that is without ligament damage. I think his prognosis sounds good from what I have heard.

Jared Allen is to football what Jason Voorhees is to Lake Crystal.
Percy Harvin is Devin Hester, except someone very smart decided to teach him how to catch and run routes.

by SDviking on Dec 7, 2009 5:06 PM CST reply actions

I hate to say I told you so.

This, per PFT, sort of explains what I was trying to say when I started this post. There’s no doubt this is a serious injury but it may not be as bad as “glass half-empty” people might say.

“When linebacker E.J. Henderson’s lower leg flopped unnaturally after taking friendly fire to his thigh on Sunday night, many viewers feared that Henderson might never play again.

Not so, says a doctor who has treated skiers with the same injury.

Henderson fractured his femur, the large leg bone above the knee. Dr. David Thorson tells Sean Jensen of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that Henderson possibly could be running in two months.

“Assuming everything is as it should be, my guess is he’ll be participating in training camp,” said Thorson. “The bone heals fast, and he’s a healthy guy.”

Thorson explained that it can be more difficult to recover from a serious knee injury than a fractured femur. He said that a compression rod is inserted to stabilize the bone and prevent muscle spasms or further internal damage.

Though it’s important to note that Thorson hasn’t treated or evaluated Henderson (and, yes, we’ve previously criticized doctors for talking about patients other than their own), the perspective is surprisingly encouraging for one of the key members of the Minnesota defense."

by jswen on Dec 7, 2009 11:28 PM CST reply actions