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NFL Season: Emergency Rooms Prepare for Injury Epidemic
Hospital emergency rooms across America are on high alert for a six-month injury epidemic about to sweep the country - the National Football League is back.
"We expect a record year for shredded kneecaps, torn hamstrings, mangled ACLs and concussions," said Dr. Daryle Lamonica, head of the emergency room at St. Stanislaus Hospital in Kansas City and no relation to the old Oakland Raiders quarterback.
"The NFL season is always busy, but we expect more injuries this year because they're bigger, faster, stronger and more juiced than ever," Lamonica said. "You don't think they become 6-feet-6 and 300 pounds with 10 percent body fat just through diet and exercise, do you? After all, it's not called the Natural Football League."
Lamonica said high-intensity rivalries often lead to more injuries. So can home games for teams such as Indianapolis and New Orleans, which play on artificial turf. And old war-horse running backs like Emmitt Smith in Arizona and Eddie George in Dallas have taken beatings for years and are just injuries waiting to happen.
"We get our share during mini-camps and exhibition games," Lamonica said. "One guy with Tennessee even hurt both knees on the same play. But things turn up a few notches in the regular season, which is good for our business. "
The NFL is also good for businesses that make crutches, braces, ice packs and extra-strength pain relievers.
"We do 80 percent of our business during the NFL season," said Tom Watkins, president of Acme Cast Co. in Cleveland. "It's always great to see a new, young crop of players, playing their hearts out. They thrill the fans and put money in our pockets."
Even Las Vegas gets in on the act, where bookmakers have set the second quarter of the Denver-Kansas City game as the over-under for the first season-ending injury.
"Hey, injuries are part of the game," Lamonica said. "Our loyalty is to the players and the bottom line. And if we have to treat fans who get injured in drunken fights, all the better. We're here to serve and, of course, make a profit."
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