a kid i coach got hit in the ear with an elbow during our match on saturday. he had slight hearing loss and went to the doctor yesterday to find out that his eardrum is slightly ruptured. the doctor recommended that he not continue to play, but the doc didn't tell him what the risks were if he did choose to keep playing. we have 3 matches left in our regular season and then our conference tournament coming up in 2 weeks. anyone had this injury or can someone offer actual sports medicine advice? he didn't see a sports medicine doctor, just a GP so we're looking for someone with specific sports medicine knowledge to tell us what the risk would be by continuing to play. thanks in advance for the advice.
My limited experience with ruptured eardrums (a son) is that they can heal within a few weeks and as I recall, important to keep dry and clean. The risk is infection that could lead to permanent hearing loss, as I recall. Or, if initially a slight tear, possible it could get to the point where surgical intervention is required. My son was only 7 or 8 at the time and while I don't remember him being restricted other than swimming and showers, I don't believe he had any sports going on at the time either. I suspect the Dr. is concerned about the increased prospects of getting mud, dust, sweat, etc in the ear or getting elbowed in the same place again. I'm sure you have figured this out already, but as a coach you need to be careful about getting involved between a player and their doctor particularly since you are getting information second or third hand. The consequences are too great and the rewards too small for a coach without his own medical staff to take on. The best way forward is that the player wants to play in which case as a coach, I would suggest the player and parents contact the Dr. again with specific questions around risk and possible precautions that could be taken to allow him to play. Or, see another physician.
I'm certainly steering clear of pushing my player to play or to sit out, its between him, his parents, and the doctor. The problem is that my player is Japanese and we are in Korea where sports medicine specialists are impossible to come by. So he is a Japanese kid speaking to a Korean doctor in broken English about an injury with a sports component that the doctor isn't necessarily and expert in. As a complete sidenote, my interest in gathering information here and my lack of trust of doctors in Korea comes from years of experience with doctors here coming up with crazy diagnoses of players injuries. I've had overzealous parents force their kids to see a doctor for a minor ankle sprain, and then have the kid arrive at school the next day on crutches in a hard cast and say they can't play for 6 weeks. RICE is unheard of here, as is ibuprofen or any anti-inflammatory. Its just a different world here. So you can understand my reluctance to simply accept the doctor's verdict, and my seeking of further information here on b.s., if anyone has any. ChrisSSBB, i appreciate the input, and my player will definitely be seeking another opinion.
I have found an exceptional site that has a mutual matches ( period-end 2-1 1-2 ), and even since 1990, for Soccer. I am a registered member and would recommend it to anyone who likes to bet. Such information does not have anywhere in the world, I check. www.archivesoccer.com