Playing Basketball - what is your worst injury?

i got a deep cut on the left side of my lower back when i backed into a bulletin board. It left a two inch gash, and some blood. It cut right through my shirt.

on the same court, i got elbowed on the mouth. that sucked ass.

other than that, no injuries other than bruising my ego.

 

i must have sprained my ankle over a dozen times playing basketball.

one time, i went up for a rebound and landed on my ankle. my heel and my ankle were perpendicular to each other.

 

Damn, this just happened to me last week and I know what you mean. It's at least twice the size of the other finger and I can barely bend it. I've become weary of going after hard rebounds fearing it would become worse.

Other than that, a couple of elbows here and there, a knocked out front tooth, and some occasional shin splints.

 

bruised arms. some jackass didn't want me to get my shot off, so he hacked me hard on my forearm as i was raising up for a jumper. my arms got so bruised the next day i can hardly move them for a week. also twisted my ankle a few times. and a 300 pound guy stepped on my toe once and caused me to loose one of my toe nail.

so next time if someone tell u that basketball is not a contact sport, tell him to play some pick up games in UH. it's freaking brutal.

 

I was playing an intramural game last year and my team was down by 1 with 5 seconds left, and I had the rock. So I dribbled down the lane past 3 6-5ish defenders and jumped with only 2 seconds left and did a 360-under the leg-windmill dunk over their C and PF for the game winning shot.

Ok this wasn't really an injury, but I'm sure I gave some serious heart injury to the other team.

 

just high ankle sprains...never broken an ankle, from what I hear sprained ankles can be worse than broken ones. Usually when I sprain one its pretty bad, luckily it doesnt happen that often, but damn does it hurt when it does.

 

Jammed thumb. I know people have had this before. Damn thing hurts for two months, all because you caught the ball wrong.

 

Plantar Fascitis or a deep bruise to the thigh caused by someone's knee during a full speed collision. Broke a finger playing baseball. Never hurt playing football.

 

Numerous sprained ankles, including one that was severe.

Then there was this time in high school where I was shooting around with my teammates before we got on the bus for our game. A ball was headed out of bounds and for some reason I felt like pretending that I was Dennis Rodman, so I jumped straight out and dove to save it. I grabbed the ball with my right arm and threw it underneath my body just as I hit the ground. Problem is, one of my fingers didn't make it out from under me and I landed directly on top of it, bending it backward. I acted like nothing happened because I didn't want to look like an idiot for getting hurt just hours before a game, but it hurt like hell.

 

Jumped for a rebound and came down on someone's foot and fractured my ankle. That was the worst.

And macalu. I'm still sorry I busted you in the head with my elbow fighting for that rebound. It wasn't intentional.

 

I dislocated my left shoulder twice. Very clear memory of lying on a ER table, pumped full of valium and demerol, and listening to Barry Manilow through big ol’ 70’s style headphones as the ER doctor in some back woods regional hospital in Vermont or New Hampshire tugged on my arm for about 5 minutes trying to pop it back into place after the first episode. That was a unique experience.

After the second one I had to have surgery to repair the tendon which was scheduled for when a hurricane hit Houston. During the surgery the main power went out and the hospital was on emergency generators. Unfortunately, the ice machine for the recovery room wasn't considered emergency, so when I came out of the general anesthetic with a god awful dry mouth that tasted like I had eated a clove of garlic raw, they couldn't give me anything to drink. Pure torture. (They will only give ice shavings to people still woosy from anesthetic, because they tend to choke on water.)

 

I also sprained my ankle, I was playing in some new Jordans I hate bought ( I do not recommend playing in Jordans) and they didn't seem to fit right. We were running a 3 on 3 halfcourt and my team was down by 2 and it was game-point so I "turned up the D" and I went for a block. I jumped really high, so high in fact that I sorta lost my balance in mid-air and could not see where I was coming down. And I am not sure if someone clipped my leg while I was coming down, or I landed on someones foot, but when I landed, I landed on the side of ankle.

So it was like, my ankle was already twisted while I was coming down and I landed on it sideways, twisted. I had to be helped home by 2 of my friends, luckily it was next door. I couldn't walk for a week, but thank God I did not break it, but the doctor said I was lucky that I didn't break it or tear anything. I unfortunately did not let it heal properly, and in 2 weeks I was back at "full speed" but I never really recovered. Now when I play I am worried I am going to break it or mess it up again, and it swells with just walking on it for an extended period of time.

Also I have sprained all my fingers except my left thumb. All from the same thing, trying to stick my hand in front of pass and the ball bending my finger back.

 

Couple years ago, just another night of playin' ball... and I was driving right, went up between two big white guys(I'm only 5'8), went up like A.I. too. Made the layup, but while I was in the air, I was bump and sandwiched between both of them, lost my balance in the air, landed on my right leg all weird, like my knee popped out, I could hear a pop too. Thought I broke something. Had to carried off the court, cause I had no feeling in my leg for awhile. Come to find out, I tore my ACL. Couldn't do nothing for months, almost a year before play any sports again.

Another time, couple months after my right knee was getting stronger to the point I could play again, I was playing in this flag football league. It was the last play before the halftime, I was rushing the QB, blocked the ball as he was throwing it. My left leg landed all wrong as I was coming down(the ground was all mushy because it had rained the night before) I think that was a reason I landed wrong, and I heard the pop again in my left knee now. So I had torn my ACL in my left knee now.

So with two bad knees, I don't play anything where I have to jump or run hard. No basketball or football, all I play now is baseball.

 

One time I was playing basketball and I died.

 

Ankle sprains, knee sprains, cracked a little bone in my wrist (fell and caught myself). Worst I've given? Concussion. Yeah, I've got the Mutombo elbows.

 

owwwww you guys have it rough. i thought sprained/jammed fingers were rough. then again, im only 15. crapp i dont want to get old.

i have had a couple of sprained ankles though.

 

Very bad back contusion. Went up for a rebound and BAM! I was undercut by somebody. Ambulance had to come get me and I could not eat anything the day it happened.

 

I have had several sprained ankles over the years. The worst one I actually went to the doctor which I had never had to do before. Usually if I had a sprain I'd just take it easy for a few weeks an ice and elevate and things would be fine. Well this time it was like two months and it still hurt. I went to my general practitioner who took x-rays and said I would never be able to run again due to ligament damage. Obviously I was depressed, but my ankle did get better with time and balance training, stregthening, and stretching. Now I run just fine. The lesson is to go to an orthopedic specialist not a general MD.

Now that wasn't even my worst injury. My sophomore year of high school during basketball practice we were doing jumping drills. I jumped and hung on the rim and my fingers slipped and I was about to land on my back but I stuck my leg out to try and land on my feet. I ended up fracturing my tibia and had to have three screws placed to fix it. The worst part of the injury was I was just getting to where I could dunk, but after the break I never really came close again. I don't mess with basketball anymore.

 

I've gotten the most injured playing basketball, and once softball. Never got a serious injury playing football, though really I should have if you're a contributor of any kind....

So way back in the days I was going up for dunk attempt at the park court, no-breakaway double rim. So naturally cuz it didnt have any give my fingers got hung coming down, with the momentum turning my body sideways where I was coming down almost head first. I put my hands down to brace myself from totally busting my ass, though it didnt help too much. Ended up hitting that concrete court hard and fractured bones in my right wrist.

Had to play football through that. Also had to run track with a big ol clunky cast, and learned to live lefty for a couple months. And I did that in front of my sister and her semi-cute friend like a real ace...