Fulmer, Pitt athletes deal with injuries

Incurring season-ending injuries on the football field in 2006 and 2007, Doug Fulmer was… Incurring season-ending injuries on the football field in 2006 and 2007, Doug Fulmer was especially elated about reporting to football camp in August. The defensive end was anxious to get back into action. ‘After sitting out a year and a half, I was excited about rejoining the fellas and getting off the sidelines,’ said Fulmer. For all of the Pitt football team, camp meant early rises, twice-a-day practices, curfews and bed-checks. In addition to being twice a day, practices during camp were hot, intense and long. Summer, for the players, was over. On Aug. 12, during the 9-on-9 drill in the second practice of two-a-days, it happened. ‘I came around on a lineman stunt and got tangled up with Conredge [Collins],’ recalled Fulmer. ‘There was a pop. All his weight came on my knee, and that’s what made it tear.’ ‘It’ was Fulmer’s anterior cruciate ligament, and the injury ended his season for the third straight year. Like Fulmer, a number of athletes sustain injuries throughout their collegiate career. While there is no formula to determine how, when and where an injury will take place, the fact of the matter is that injuries come with the territory. And while it’s uncommon to focus on this dark side of sports, it’s important to be aware of the effect and impact of injuries on the lives of our prized athletes. Fulmer was first sidelined in 2006 after suffering a left ankle fracture as a redshirt freshman in a 51-6 win over The Citadel. It was the fourth game of the year, and the damage required surgery, causing Fulmer to miss the remainder of the 2006 season. After months of strenuous rehabilitation, Fulmer was declared healthy enough to rejoin the team for spring training in April 2007. But during training, Fulmer encountered his second major injury. He tore his right ACL and, as a result, missed the 2007 season. The ACL is one of four ligaments crucial to maintaining stability of the knee. And ACL tears, along with ankle and shoulder injuries, are among some of the most common football injuries. While a lot of other injuries can be painful and tough to recover from, ACL injuries many times take the longest time to heal. Depending on the surgeon, ACL tears can take six to nine months for full recovery. In some cases, they’ll take even longer. To assist with the recovery process after any injury, athletic trainers and doctors don’t waste any time. ‘Rehab starts immediately,’ said Tony Salesi, assistant director for the performance team at Pitt. ‘It may be a simple tightening of a muscle, but while our long term goal is to get them back, our immediate goal is to increase mobility.’ And that rehabilitation, according to Fulmer, is extremely demanding. ‘In addition to class, I report to the South Side rehab room once a day,’ he said. ‘And I have workouts four times a week to improve my strength and mobility.’ Pitt’s South Side facility is one of Pitt’s three athletic and medical facilities. Depending on the sport, athletes might report to the Fitzgerald Field House or the Petersen Events Center for treatment and training. On top of separate workouts, injured athletes often make an effort to attend practices and stay involved with the team. Because injuries can easily be extremely isolating, teammates, coaches and supporting staff work to keep the athlete engaged. ‘Mick Williams and my other roommates Irv [Brown], Shane [Brooks] and Tommie [Duhart] try to keep me as positive as they can,’ said Fulmer. ‘It’s like a brotherhood. They definitely keep me going when I’m feeling down.’ Some coaches try to keep players involved by having them serve as a part of the coaching staff by giving input. ‘While athletes are recovering, we try to keep them involved as much as we can by getting their opinions and ideas from the outside in,’ said Pitt women’s soccer coach Sue-Moy Chin. Fulmer said that the most important thing to do when out with an injury is to stay positive. Pitt women’s basketball coach Agnus Berenato likes to give her players encouraging talks. ‘I tell my girls to play like it’s their last time,’ said Berenato. ‘Because basketball is such a physical sport a serious injury can take you out in a second. I tell them not to let basketball run their lives, but to use it as an opportunity to gain an education or to progress professionally.’ Shayla Scott, a sophomore guard at Pitt, was sidelined for three weeks last season with a stress reaction in her fibula. Scott said that when a player is injured, the team, coaches and staff work hard to keep the athlete encouraged, involved and academically focused. Fulmer has taken full advantage of his academic opportunities. With a major in administration of justice and a minor in legal studies, Fulmer said there’s no way he won’t be walking for graduation in April. In light of his new focus, Fulmer picked up a few extra credits this semester to ensure his graduation this spring. While Fulmer’s exact story may be uncommon, he is representative of many athletes who experience athletic related injuries. ‘Injuries happen in spurts, but in my six years here, we’ve had about one a year,’ said Chin. ‘However, when I was at Duke, we had about two or three ACL injuries in three years.’ Like Chin, most coaches reported at least one or two major injuries per year, but the type and number of injuries vary from sport to sport. The chance of sustaining an ACL tear is greater in certain sports and different from person to person. For football, the team sees about three or four serious injuries per year in addition to the little sprains and jams that can potentially become a problem. ‘We see a lot of ankle, knee and shoulder injuries in football,’ said Rob Blanc, the director of athletic performance at Pitt. ‘With the ankle we generally see sprains. In the knees, mostly ligaments like the ACL or [medial collateral ligament], and the shoulder is usually a sprain of the joints.’ When an athlete is injured and needs surgery, Pitt assumes full responsibility. But since nearly 90 percent of athletes have personal insurance, their insurance serves as the primary provider, and Pitt covers all remaining cost. For athletes without insurance, Pitt incurs the whole cost. And, in all cases, Pitt provides its athletes with the staff and facilities to assist with making a full recovery. Throughout Fulmer’s career, the football team has experienced several major injuries. These include things like neck damage, broken bones and shoulder sprains. But Fulmer said that the most common injury involves the ankle. Salesi works with more than 400 athletes and has a complete understanding for how it works. ‘About 25 percent of all injuries involve the ankle,’ he said. ‘For most sports, tearing the ACL is not that common. It does, however, receive great notoriety because people often relate it to career threatening or season-ending injuries.’ Salesi said people often underestimate the long-term effects of minimal injuries on athletes and on the collegiate level. And the job of the performance team is to make sure that nagging injuries do not turn into limiting ones. Nagging injuries refer to minimal damage that is normally overlooked. This includes things like a jammed finger or a twisted ankle. ‘A finger can hurt all year,’ said Salesi. ‘If you have to shoot a ball, and your finger hurts, you’re going to have a problem. On the same token, many people think they can play through an ankle sprain, But if you’re on the track team, where you’re required to give 100 percent all the time, a sprained ankle can be very limiting.’ While the performance team works hard to prevent injuries from becoming inhibiting, they also work to prevent athletes from getting injured. ‘A lot of what we do for strength and conditioning is designed to build the muscles and prevent the chance of injury,’ said athletic trainer and clinical instructor Jill Conley. ‘In addition, special programs for the lower body have been designed, particularly for females to prevent injuring specific muscles in core groups.’ Conley works closely with the women’s basketball team. And while the team has been fortunate when it comes to injuries in here nine years of experience, she said there is ultimately no formula that will prevent an athlete from incurring an injury. And while Fulmer has been one of the unlucky ones on the football field, he said his experiences enlightened him. ‘I am a student athlete in that order, and I have learned to live life day by day because nothing is promised,’ said Fulmer. ‘In time, all wounds will heal and the key is to never give up if it’s something you really want. I’m graduating in April, and because I love the game, getting back on the field is something I have to do.’