I think this is a first for us. We have a second entry for an injured player, Steve Francis. We covered his original injury in 2005 when he had bruised ribs. I look back at the entry now and chuckle. In the 2.5 years since we've covered so many more things. Starting 2008 with a new Steve Francis injury seems appropriate.

Yes, Steve Franics is out with quadricep tendinitis, and yes, I know this is the second entry in a row on quadriceps injuries. Who knew there would be such a rush of quads injuries at the end of the year?

I don't think I've gotten into the WNBA. With a limited amount of time, and other sports to watch, I think I've seen maybe part of one or two WNBA games. Still, these women are professional athletes, and their injuries hurt just as much.

For instance, DeMya Walker of the Sacramento Monarchs is out for the season following a patellar tendon tear. This is nasty injury, and one that sidelines many basketball players. The report indicates she suffered from a sprain in her right knee prior to this. I am not sure if they are related, but it's not too much to think they are.

Tracy McGrady is in the top ten basketball players on the planet, but he's been humbled lately due to a back strain. While some in the media are questioning whether Tracy McGrady is washed up, a back strain is a tough mess to clean up.

Your back provides the framework for the rest of your skeleton and cannot be underestimated in importance. Everything from standing to walking to laying down are affected by your back. This doesn't even begin to address how important the back is in basketball. Even a minor disruption of your back's physiological function will hurt your performance.

 

Kayla Burt is a college basketball player for the University of Washington. Scratch that. Kayla Burt was a player on the University of Washington women's basketball team. Kayla has left the game due to continuing issues surrounding Long QT syndrome. Kayla's implanted heart defibrillator went off twice Thursday, January 12, 2006 in a game against the UCLA Bruins.

Her implant went into action as she experienced ventricular tachycardia, which is a very rapid beating of the heart. The heart beats so rapidly that it cannot pump blood into the body.

Yao Ming is hobbled by an infected toe. The 7 foot 5 inch NBA all star has an infected big toe. It's amazing that the toes can have that much of an effect on a person, but it's true. The big toe is critical for walking, and more importantly for Yao, running.

Yao Ming doesn't have your run of the mill toe infection, but an infection called osteomyelitis. It's a nasty infection that is usually introduced somewhere else in the body, but ends up attacking bones.

What are the symptoms of osteomyelitis - toe infection?

Steve Fancis, the electric guard for the Orlando Magic, was involved in a car accident at the end of November. He suffered various injuries, but the most painful was bruised ribs. In his line of work you have to be able to move agilely without pain. Bruised ribs prevents this movement.

What are ribs? The human ribs collectively form the rib cage. The purpose of ribs is to surround the heart and lungs to provide protections. Ribs are bones and humans have 24 of them.

In the NBA your legs are your life. Running down the court, jumping it's all based on the movement of your legs. When you are injured, as Carlos Boozer has been with pulled or strained hamstring, you go on the bench.

Carlos Boozer has had a setback with his pulled hamstring muscle, which means he has to undergo treatment and then physical therapy again to regain the strength and mobility that the hamstring muscle provides.

What is the hamstring muscle? The hamstring muscle is actually a collection muscles on the back of your thigh. They are thick and fibrous tendons that allow you to move your leg at the knee joint.

How do you pull your hamstring? There are a number of causes of hamstring pulls or strains:

• Exertion
• Limited flexibility
• Weak muscle strength
• Over training
• Over exertion
• Quick starts and stops during athletic activity

DJ White is a starting forward for Indiana University, and he's going to be out of the lineup for six weeks with a broken foot. The injury to DJ White is odd in that the medical staff doesn't know when it happened. DJ didn't complain of any pain during a game.

The injury to DJ White isn't a stress fracture, so he shouldn't miss much time. The estimates are between two and six weeks.

What is a broken foot? The foot has 26 bones that are separated into three classifications: forefoot, mid foot and hind foot. A broken foot occurs when one of the bones breaks.

What causes a broken foot? There are a number of reasons depending on which part of the foot is affected:

• Kicking something hard
• Landing on your foot while twisting
• Direct impact to the foot
• Landing on your foot with a hard force

Poor Pavel Podkolzin. If you don't know him, and you probably don't, he's a 7 foot 5 inch Russian that plays basketball for the Dallas Mavericks. Unfortunately for Pavel Podkolzin, he injured his foot and ended up with a stress fracture. Specifically, it's his right foot and he had to undergo surgery, including adding two screws, to repair it.

What is a stress fracture? A stress fracture isn't a break of a bone, but more like a crack in the bone. They are usually very small and can cause intense pain. In this case, Pavel Podkolzin's right foot developed a stress fracture.

What causes a stress fracture? Since bones are continually rebuilding, there are times where one part of a bone may be weaker than another. If the bone is put under a great deal of stress, like a 7 foot 5 inch man playing basketball, they can develop small cracks.

Dwayne Carswell of the Denver Broncos was recently in a five car accident that caused major damage to him. Dwayne had to have his spleen removed in a procedure called a splenectomy. Carswell suffered broken ribs, a ruptured spleen and other injuries in the accident.

What is a spleen? The spleen is an organ in the human body that helps remove dead red blood cells and other nasty items from your bloodstream. You can think of it as a strainer for your blood. The spleen itself is a spongy type of tissue.

Do you need a spleen? No, your body can properly work without a spleen. There is a slight, increased risk of infections that you normally wouldn't get.