When Wayna’ Crofton was hit by an offensive lineman, he immediately knew his shoulder was dislocated. What he didn’t know was the extent of the shoulder injury.
“I went to attack the offensive guard, and offensive tackle came and hit my shoulder from behind because I was extended,” Wayna’ recalls. He was a defensive end for Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, Kansas, at the time, going up against Lee’s Summit North in Week 4 of the season. “I didn’t think anything was torn.”
Thankfully, Wayna’s arm popped back into place on its own. Dr. Ian Goodman, an orthopedic sports medicine fellow at The University of Kansas Health System at the time, was on the sidelines at the game and assessed Wayna’.
The early diagnosis? A labral tear.
The next step in the process was to send Wayna’ to the Saturday morning walk-in clinic at the health system’s Sports Medicine and Performance Center located at The University of Kansas Health System Indian Creek Campus at I-435 and Nall Avenue. Wayna’ went the next day and the diagnosis was confirmed: a labrum tear in his right shoulder.
Play through the pain?
Sometimes when a shoulder pops out of place, there’s more that can happen than just a tear of the labrum, which is the tissue that surrounds the shoulder’s socket to make it more stable. There are times when other ligaments that provide structure in the shoulder can be torn, or associated fractures can create instability.
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