Can you play with a broken foot – Shaun Alexander

6Jun/070

Can you play with a broken foot – Shaun Alexander

Shaun Alexander, who won the NFL MVP in 2005, cracked a joke about his broken foot a few weeks ago. It caused a major stir in the Seattle press, and the hopes and dreams of thousands of fantasy football owners stopped.

Alexander was talking about playing with a cracked foot. Here's what he said:

I don't want to get another X-ray until after this camp. If the X-ray shows it's still cracked, it's like, 'OK, what does that mean?'

So, the question becomes can you play football with a broken foot. Sure, if the break is more like a small fracture and it's not on a heavy load bearing part of the foot. Most football players, though, will be impacted by a broken foot of any measure for the following reasons:

It creates pain when you push off.
Swelling can be an issue.
The pain takes away from your concentration.

Remember, too, that a small fracture can continue fracturing. This is when you get in trouble and start looking at screws to fix your foot.

The Seahawks have shown stupidity in the past by allowing Matt Hasselbeck to play with a broken hand. If I were Alexander, I would have an independent doctor review my results.