Fracture

For those who suffer a complex bone fracture that requires the insertion of stainless steel pins in the bone while it heals, there is a new lightweight, non-itchy alternative to covering the fracture in a heavy cast. In certain cases, a metal rod on a frame can be used to connect the pins and keep the fracture rigid and in proper position while healing. The procedure is performed under anesthesia in the operating room. According to Pennsylvania Hospital orthopedic surgeon Arthur R. Bartolozzi, the procedure may be a treatment option for a complex wrist fracture or an open fracture when the bone of an arm or leg pierces the skin.

Think of a rubber band. It can stretch and stretch - but then you s-t-r-e-t-c-h it too far and it breaks. The body's bones work the same way. When they are called on to endure too much stress, they crack. "Stress fractures," the medical term for such injuries, are faced by runners and other athletes. "We've seen a rash of stress fractures in the tibia (shin bone) and the pelvis in the past few weeks," said Dr. Phillip Marone, M.D., director of the Thomas Jefferson University Sports Medicine Center, 9th and Sansom streets, which opened four months ago. In recent days, Marone has treated shin stress fractures in a 15-year-old soccer player and in two recreational runners, ages 21 and 26. A 40-year-old attorney, also a runner, came in with a stress fracture of his pelvis.

Old Fashioned, once a Kentucky Derby favorite, suffered a fracture in his right front knee while finishing second in yesterday's Arkansas Derby, said his trainer, Larry Jones. "We do not feel like anything is life-threatening," Jones said in a telephone interview last night. "We don't even know if it is career-ending. Needless to say, he is out of the Derby. " Old Fashioned, owned by Wilmington's Rick Porter, had finished second to Papa Clem in the $1 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park.

Penn State freshman guard Jon Crispin will miss the next three to four weeks with a stress fracture in his right foot. The injury does not require surgery and Crispin will undergo treatment to help the bone heal on its own, the team said yesterday. The 6-2 shooting guard from Pitman (N.J.) High is fourth on the team in scoring with 9.5 points a game. He leads the team in three-point accuracy at .364, hitting 36 of 99. Crispin also has 38 assists, 24 steals and averages 2.2 rebounds.

In a sport where a muscle twinge can put a player out of commission for weeks, it's hard to imagine a guy fracturing his skull and not missing a day. That's just what Gene Schall did. The first baseman, who is hoping to win a job as Gregg Jefferies' backup, has played in all three of the Phillies' exhibition games, including yesterday's 6-5 loss to the Texas Rangers at Jack Russell Stadium. Schall drew a walk and, representing the tying run, was left on base as the Phillies' ninth-inning rally fell short.

Villanova point guard Jonathan Haynes has a stress fracture in his right foot and will be out until at least the regular-season opener, the team announced at last night's exhibition game. The stress fracture was diagnosed on Nov. 1, and Haynes was told to stay off the foot for three weeks. His condition will be reevaluated then, just before Villanova opens its season on Thanksgiving Day in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage. Haynes said last night that he felt pain one day in practice, but didn't realize he had a fracture until a team trainer suggested X-rays.

Groovy, a Texas-bred horse and leading candidate for the 1987 thoroughbred sprint championship, has a fractured splint bone and will be retired to stud. Groovy had won his first six starts this year in New York stakes races, but was a well-beaten second as the odds-on favorite in the $1 million Breeders Cup Sprint at Hollywood Park on Nov. 21.

Denver Nuggets forward LaPhonso Ellis will miss the rest of the season because of a stress fracture in his right knee. Ellis, who sat out the preseason after injuring his knee Sept. 11 during a pickup game, will undergo knee surgery tomorrow. "Of course, it's disappointing," Ellis said. "But it hasn't been as disappointing as it might have been since the team has been winning. " Last season, Ellis averaged 15.4 points and 8.6 rebounds a game. On Saturday, team doctors said Ellis's knee has shown no real improvement.

A stress fracture of the right foot will sideline George Washington University's Ellis McKenney for the remainder of the basketball season. McKenney, a 6-foot, 3-inch junior guard, is a graduate of George Washington High School. According to the Sports Information Office at George Washington University, McKenney was treated by team physicians for a sore foot. When the pain did not subside, an X-ray revealed the fracture. McKenney's doctors will determine whether surgery is necessary.

Tony Saunders lowered his head and wept. There was no easy way for him to say he was finished, that he would not attempt another comeback after breaking his pitching arm in a game for the second time in 15 months. Wiping away tears, he spoke from the heart. "It's just hard knowing you're done," Saunders said yesterday. "You want to deny that it happened and [think] something else is wrong. But then, you know exactly what it is. I knew laying on that field that was it. " The 26-year-old lefthander's bid to continue his career with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays ended short of a return to the majors when he broke the bone that runs from the shoulder to the elbow in his pitching arm in the same general area as he did in May 1999.

The Soul will be shorthanded for Saturday's visit to Georgia. Star wide receiver Donovan Morgan fractured his left wrist in Sunday's loss to Cleveland and will be out 4 to 6 weeks, according to Soul GM Tom Goodhines. Reserve wide receiver Emory Sammons will be activated for the first time this season, and veteran Larry Brackins will see more playing time to compensate for Morgan's absence. Morgan leads the team with 23 catches and eight touchdowns, and is widely considered the face of the franchise.

The Flyers appear to have dodged a possible parade-killing bullet. Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren announced that goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov has a small chip fracture in his right foot, which was revealed by an MRI exam on Tuesday after two separate sets of X-rays showed nothing. The fracture does not require surgery, and Bryzgalov - one of the NHL's hottest goaltenders - could be playing again this weekend. "We don't think this is a serious injury," Holmgren said.

THE FLYERS appear to have dodged a possible parade-killing bullet. Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren announced that goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov has a small chip fracture in his right foot, which was revealed by an MRI on Tuesday after two separate sets of X-rays showed nothing. The fracture does not require surgery and Bryzgalov - one of the NHL's hottest goaltenders - could be playing again this weekend. "We don't think this is a serious injury," Holmgren said. "It's a chip off a weight-bearing bone, and the doctor has said it'll be absorbed back into his system, and there's no real risk here at all [to play]

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Third baseman Placido Polanco said X-rays of his left ring finger taken after he left Saturday's game against Toronto were negative, and he categorized himself as day-to-day. "It's a little stiff today and a little swelling," Polanco said Sunday morning. "I jammed it, and it's day-to-day. I just have to see how I feel every day. " Assistant general manager Scott Proefrock described the injury as "a little sprain" and said Polanco would miss only a couple of days.

Former Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett, who had been trying to revive his career with the Pirates, is expected to miss two to three months while recovering from surgery for a facial fracture. The Pirates, who were trying to perk up their fortunes by acquiring Burnett, 35, in a three-player trade last month, are also in a pickle. They had intended to make him their No. 1 starter, but now have to scramble to find someone for their home opener April 5 against the Phillies. The righthander had surgery Friday in Pittsburgh for a broken orbital bone near his right eye, an injury he sustained when he fouled a ball off his face Wednesday during a bunting drill.

Question: Besides watching salt in my diet, are there any foods I can eat that can help reduce my blood pressure and risk of stroke? Answer: An apple a day really can keep the doctor away - at least when it comes to strokes. Eating fruit with white edible portions, such as apples and pears, can reduce the risk of stroke by 52 percent, according to researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Their 10-year study involved 20,069 adults, average age 41. None of the participants had cardiovascular disease at the onset.

BEN ROETHLISBERGER'S sprained left foot might be the least of the Steelers' problems. Coach Mike Tomlin expects his quarterback to play Sunday when Pittsburgh (2-2) hosts Tennessee (3-1). The same can't be said for linebacker James Harrison, who needs surgery to repair a fractured orbital bone near his right eye and will be out "for a number of weeks. " Harrison sustained the injury in the third quarter of Pittsburgh's 17-10 loss to Houston last week when the forepad in his helmet came down and struck him in the eye as he collided with a Texans player.

Michael Vick is expected to start Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers despite a deep bone bruise in his right hand, Eagles sources said. The swelling in Vick's nonthrowing hand has to lessen enough for the quarterback to grip the football, but indications Tuesday were that his injury wouldn't impede his play. Coach Andy Reid said Monday that Vick could "play with the swelling," adding, "It's just got to be where he can bend his hand where he can work with it. " Vick's overall health, of course, is of great concern with 13 games remaining.

This was not the senior football season that Shawnee offensive lineman Tom Smith had in mind, especially after such a successful junior year. The 6-foot-4, 257-pound Smith was a first-team all-conference choice as a junior. During the summer and into preseason camp, he was limited by a sore back. Smith finally got it examined the first week of September and was told he had a stress fracture. Doctors suggested he rest for two to three months. So while Smith isn't out for the season, there is no guarantee he will play this year, either.

SAN FRANCISCO - Tony Romo felt sick to his stomach. It hurt to breathe, let alone bark out the cadence in a hostile road stadium. Playing with the throbbing pain from a fractured rib, Romo rallied America's Team just as he promised he would. In a week when Romo vowed to play his best game, he delivered a gutsy comeback that looked so unlikely when he briefly came out before halftime and then returned to the locker room. Moments after the Cowboys (1-1) announced the quarterback was done for the day, there came No. 9 ready to take charge of the huddle once again.