1,001 Facts That Will Scare the S#*t Out of You: The Ultimate Bathroom Reader (46 page)

327

FACT :
Research by the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center shows that
18 percent of spinal cord injuries are sports-related
, with close to 8,000 injuries each year. This is likely a gross underestimate, however, as an additional 20 patients per million die before reaching the hospital.
People without medical coverage will do anything to avoid a high hospital bill.

Randolph W. Evans, Neurology and Trauma, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2006).

328

FACT :
One study showed that over half of
sports-related catastrophic spinal cord injuries resulted from diving accidents
, most of them during unsupervised or unsponsored activities in which alcohol was a factor.
“Hey y’all, watch this!”

Randolph W. Evans, Neurology and Trauma 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2006).

329

FACT :
From 1982 to 1997, cheerleading accounted for 57 percent of the
catastrophic injuries and fatalities
among young female athletes.
When did cheerleaders become “athletes”?

Jean O’Reilly and Susan K. Cahn, Women and Sports in the United States: A Documentary Reader (UPNE, 2007).

330

FACT :
Stingers are injuries to the nerves in the neck and shoulder that cause
painful electric sensations to radiate through one of the arms
. If not properly diagnosed and treated, stingers, which are usually sports-related, can lead to persistent pain and permanent nerve damage.
They might want to rethink that name. Talk about an understatement.

“The Stinger,” North American Spine Society Public Education Series, North American Spine Society, 2006,
www.spine.org
.

331

FACT :
From 1973 to 1975, there were
eighty-one known fatalities from hang-gliding
, usually involving massive head, neck, and chest trauma that included shattered skulls and ruptured aortas, heart lacerations, and pulmonary collapse. The majority of injured hang-gliders arrived at the hospital deceased. Of thirty-seven fatal injuries, 20 percent involved alcohol.
Alcohol and hang-gliding—great idea!

Julian E. Bailes and Arthur L. Day, Neurological Sports Medicine: A Guide for Physicians and Athletic Trainers (Thieme, 2001).

332

FACT :
Rowing is a taxing sport with a
significant incidence of injury among participants
, ranging from spondylolysis, a stress fracture to one of the vertebrae, to disc disease, chronic pain from a damaged disc. Both conditions can lead to other injuries and degeneration in the spine.
Row, row, row your boat, Paddles in a line, Push ‘em up, pull ‘em back, Snap your goddamn spine.

Julian E. Bailes and Arthur L. Day, Neurological Sports Medicine: A Guide for Physicians and Athletic Trainers (Thieme, 2001).

“Spondylolysis and Spondylo-listhesis,” American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons,
www.orthoinfo.aaos.org
.

“Degenerative Disc Disease,” Cedars-Sinai Medical Center,
www.csmc.edu
.

333

FACT :
Sports shooters, especially those who use indoor small-bore rifle ranges,
risk lead absorption and intoxication
, known to cause symptomatic neuropathy, which can be damaging to the brain, nerves, and more.
Neuropathy is a nervous disorder—not really something you want in a guy walking around with a loaded gun.

Julian E. Bailes and Arthur L. Day, Neurological Sports Medicine: A Guide for Physicians and Athletic Trainers (Thieme, 2001).