Team Physicians Often Let Players Play With Serious Concussions
Concussions are classic soccer injuries, but, controversially, players suspected of having even serious concussions are often allowed to continue to play. For example, German midfielder Christoph Kramer's head collided with full force into the shoulder of Argentina's Ezequiel Garay during a rigorously played match. Kramer was allowed to keep on playing. He stumbled across the field for 10 minutes before being replaced. After the game, he reported memory gaps; he was not able to remember the first half of the match at all. What type of amnesia did he have?

Retrograde amnesia
Anterograde amnesia
Transient global amnesia
Lacunar amnesia
Dissociative amnesia

Answer: A. Retrograde amnesia
Retrograde amnesia is marked by a loss of memory access to information that was learned before the injury. Anterograde amnesia describes exactly the opposite loss of memory. Patients suffering from this type of amnesia fail to remember events that happen after their injury. Patients with transient global amnesia show symptoms of both anterograde and retrograde amnesia; in some cases, retrograde amnesia may be minor. Lacunar amnesia describes a loss of memory function for certain events. In dissociative amnesia, the patient is unable to remember vital personal information that has nothing to do with normal forgetfulness; it's commonly seen in individuals who have witnessed a violent crime or a grave accident and doesn't occur with a medical illness.

A Profusely Bleeding Laceration Is No Reason to Call It a Day
Ecuadorian midfielder Christian Noboa suffered a violent head-to-head collision with France's Blaise Matuidi, resulting in a severely bleeding laceration. Noboa's head was bandaged and fitted with a mesh-like cap by his team physician, and he went right back into the game.

Whether the many soccer players who suffered head injuries during the World Cup should have been allowed back onto the field is a matter of heated debate. Many displayed classic symptoms of concussion. Which of these is not a facultative — that is, an optional or discretionary — symptom?

Headache
Brief loss of consciousness
Amnesia
Vomiting
Sensitivity to noise

Answer: B. Brief loss of consciousness
A brief loss of consciousness is an obligatory symptom of a concussion. All of the other answer choices — headache, amnesia, vomiting, and sensitivity to noise — are facultative symptoms.

For One Player, Brutal Injuries From One End to the Other
Argentina's Javier Mascherano collided heads painfully with an opposing player in the World Cup semi-final match, but like so many other injured players in the tournament, he continued playing. Initially he only appeared to be dizzy, but he then stumbled and finally fell to the ground. He was, however, back in the game a few minutes later. This was not Mascherano's only painful experience during the match. Shortly before the referee blew the final whistle, he lunged to attack Dutch midfielder Arjen Robben, whereupon, he says, he tore his anus. Anal fissures aren't classic soccer injuries, but they can be caused by trauma, low fiber intake, and psychological stress. Which of the following should be checked in cases of reoccurring anal fissures?

Sexual preference
Chronic inflammatory bowel disease
Diarrhea
Constipation
All of the above

Answer: E. All of the above
The etiology of anal fissures remains inconclusive, but there are some well-known risk factors. Constipation, diarrhea, and inflammatory bowel disease, as well as a proclivity for anal sex, can increase the risk for anal injury.

An Accidental Face Kick Nearly Costs a Player His Eye
In another instance of bloody head injury, Swiss defender Steve von Bergen and French striker Olivier Giroud collided in the fifth minute of play. Giroud, lunging to kick the ball, struck von Bergen in the middle of the face with his foot instead. The Swiss player fell to the ground with a gaping laceration below the left eye. Subsequent diagnostic imaging revealed an orbital fracture.

Which signs and symptoms would indicate surgery for this injury?

Headaches
Over 50% of the orbital floor is affected
Persistent diplopia
A, B, and C
B and C

Answer: E. B and C
A blow-out fracture doesn't always require surgery. Indications are based on the extent of fracture and ocular motility. Large fractures with displacement or comminution — that is, the act of breaking, or the condition of being broken, into small fragments — of more than 50% of the orbital floor, or persistent diplopia, should be corrected by surgery.[12]

A Soccer Ball Kicked With Bone-Fracturing Force
When Nigerian midfielder Michael Babatunde (shown above being carried off the field in a stretcher, with noninjured arm covering his face) inadvertently blocked his teammate's goal shot, the brutal shot slammed into his right arm, fracturing it.

Several fracture patterns occur in the forearm. Name a fracture of the ulnar shaft with a luxation of the head of radius.

Monteggia fracture
Galeazzi fracture
Chassaignac paralysis
Colles fracture
Smith fracture

Answer: A. Monteggia fracture
Fractures of the lower arms have various kinds of injury patterns with proper names. The Monteggia injury describes a fracture of the ulnar shaft with a luxation of the head of the radius. In a Galeazzi fracture, the radius is broken and the distal radioulnar joint is dislocated. Chassaignac paralysis is most common in children. It describes a subluxation of the head of the radius, which is usually caused by a sudden traction of the child's arm. Colles fracture is known for its bayonet deformity, the result of a radius fracture with a radial displacement of the wrist. Finally, Smith fracture describes a fracture of the distal radius alone.