Maddy Hudak Article on JW Injury

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Winston has fractures in his L1 to L4 vertebrae, known as the lumbar part of his spine. It’s in the lower back, and those vertebrae control a lot, including the communication between your brain and lower body. It also has obvious physical limitations. Because of its location, the lumbar spine after the L2 vertebrae is no longer attached to spinal cord tissue. After that, nerve roots exit each remaining vertebrae.

Winston has four fractures, with two in that nerve root portion. It’s important to note here that we don’t know the specifics or extent of each fracture; the severity dictates the symptoms of injury. But here’s what to expect with each one.

The L1 and L2 vertebrae affect your hips and legs. Injuries there can reduce hip flexion and range of motion, and sometimes a feeling of numbness in your lower body. L3 is where it’s no longer connected to the spinal cord tissue. An injury here now involves nerve roots, leading to a sense of weakness in the lower extremities, and loss of flexibility in your hips, legs, and groin. Numbness and weakness might sound similar, but you retain strength with numbness—you just lose range of motion. Weakness means you actually lose strength; it’s no longer a superficial feeling.

Not only do you have a reduced range of motion, but within those confines, you lose flexibility in your stance. L4 injuries are typically less severe but are important here: it affects your ability to bend your feet as well in a particular direction. Those vertebrae can uniquely affect the play at quarterback.

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