It’s not every day that the term “vascular injury” appears in injury reports in any sport, and its uniqueness is enough to make fans nervous.
This was certainly the case when New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist reportedly suffered such an injury after being hit in the throat by a puck on January 31 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Lundqvist spoke to the media on Sunday to talk about the injury and what’s to come, and was as open as possible in giving the perspective of an injured player. He described his injury as a “vascular sprain,” and although that term is not commonly used in medicine, it conveys the relative severity of the injury in a way that most people do not. Sports fans can understand
We often hear about sprains in the context of joint injuries; Ankle sprains are perhaps one of the most common ailments in sports. Although a sprain – which, by definition, indicates a ligament injury – has a variety of manifestations, the word “tear” is usually reserved for the most serious injuries, where the tissue is completely torn.
In other words, although minor sprains may involve “tearing” of tissue, use of the word is usually associated with the worst-case scenario.
In Lunqvist’s case, there were clearly no torn blood vessels, which would have immediately put his life in danger (and would probably only have been visible in the case of a cutting injury , such as being tongue-tied on a skateboard). Rather, he suffered a direct blow to the neck that resulted in soft tissue injuries in that area – soft tissue including blood vessels were damaged in the process.
Although the Rangers did not provide further details that the wound involved a blood vessel, the situation most likely involved the carotid artery, given the artery’s location in the anterior (front) part of the neck and its relative vulnerability to blunt trauma.
The carotid artery is easily accessible on either side of the front of the neck and is a common site for measuring the pulse. In an unfortunate coincidence, Lundqvist’s mask and accompanying chin strap were accidentally lifted by teammate Ryan McDonagh’s stick, exposing the right side of his throat as Lundqvist appeared to turn his head to the left at the moment exactly where the ball lands. During this process, the carotid artery is also exposed in the same way.
Lundqvist said his neck was stiff for hours and days after the injury, possibly as a result of trauma to many of the muscles in the area that support and control the head and neck.
Dissection, a term used in medicine to describe vascular damage, denotes the separation of the vessel wall’s layers.
Because the wall where the dissection takes place is thinner, it is more prone to blood vessel growth and clot formation.
Imagine it as a garden hose crack: The hose still works, but the crack’s weak spot increases the possibility of more severe potential damage.
Dr. Jason Lee, Stanford University’s director of endovascular surgery and an assistant professor of vascular surgery, addresses vascular injuries in professional athletes and noted that the risk of stroke is the greatest after an artery dissection in the neck area.
“There is a chance that a clot will develop over the
Lee claims that the majority of carotid dissection patients are put on an anticoagulant (blood thinning) regimen for six to eight weeks, often involving the medication Coumadin. It’s important to note that Lundqvist declared on Sunday that he would just take aspirin while he was out of the game. Even though they are not as strong as those of Coumadin, aspirin does have some anticoagulant characteristics.Due to the increased risk of bleeding, anticoagulant-taking athletes often aren’t allowed to participate in contact sports; however, Lee noted that an aspirin regimen is generally safe and might be considered appropriate for contact
Beyond preventing clots from forming, the blood artery still needs to repair, which, according to Lee, usually takes two to three months. This would explain Lundqvist’s claim that he intends to come back for a push during the playoffs and the last stretch of the regular season. April 11 marks the end of the season.
The opportunity to evaluate Lundqvist’s current state of healing will likely present itself at his reevaluation in the coming weeks. Lundqvist’s activity will be monitored in the interim. As he indicated, over the next three weeks, he will gradually start light aerobic training and possibly light skating.
Extreme neck motions, as well as any contact or other potential exposure to reinjuring the vascular structure, are prohibited till then.
Extreme neck motions, as well as any contact or other potential exposure to reinjuring the vascular structure, are off-limits until sufficient healing is demonstrated.This kind of injury is uncommon for a reason. Traumatic carotid dissection is extremely uncommon in the general population as well as in sportsmen. The majority of these injuries result from violent car crashes, frequently from the restraint of a seat belt against a head and neck that are going very quickly forward.Only one patient with a carotid damage is seen by Stanford’s motor vehicle accident specialists every month, according to Lee.
However, he did note out that these wounds are often not visible through specific
This kind of injury is uncommon for a reason. Traumatic carotid dissection is extremely uncommon in the general population as well as in sportsmen. The majority of these injuries result from violent car crashes, frequently from the restraint of a seat belt against a head and neck that are going very quickly forward.Only one patient with a carotid damage is seen by Stanford’s motor vehicle accident specialists every month, according to Lee.
“There may be cases of this happening silently in athletes who suffer trauma to the neck or throat, and it heals on its own, so we never learn of it,” he said.
Of course, the risk of not identifying the injury is what gives cause for concern. One study published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine in 1998 seems to support that notion. The study identified two patients who subsequently developed neurological symptoms after being struck by a softball in the anterolateral neck (front and outer side), which led the authors to conclude carotid artery dissection following blunt trauma to that region might be underrecognizedHowever, he made note of the fact that these injuries are frequently discovered incidentally, during imaging, rather than through clear symptoms. Imaging is often only done if there is a relevant history of trauma or indications that the area has been seriously injured, like bruising.
It is still uncommon to witness it in sports, therefore it is challenging to draw similarities to Lundqvist’s circumstance.
Fortunately, the issue was correctly diagnosed for Lundqvist and the Rangers. The next step is recuperation, which mostly entails rest and healing. Although it is anticipated that the wait for a return to competition will just be a few months, anything is possible.
The good news is that once the blood vessel has repaired, there is no evidence of increased risk moving forward, even though the length of healing time can vary among individuals. The only danger is coming back too soon, which Lundqvist appears to have considered along with the dire potential outcomes.
At the presser, Lundqvist remarked, “I feel terrific, but you don’t want to push this injury. “You can’t gamble with this,” she said.
It’s true that in the NHL, the idea of a goalie duo is become more and more outmoded.
The Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, for instance, utilised five goalies throughout the previous year and had three of them available for the postseason. The phrase “goalie quintet rankings” sounds really cool.Thus, the goaltender tandem rankings for the 2023–24 NHL season took into account the fact that some teams go three deep, whether it be with a veteran on the roster or a top prospect in their system. The third goalkeeper on the depth chart is obviously not going to carry the load of the starting combination, but as the Knights can attest, it’s always a good idea to have backups — and a backup plan.
These rankings were developed following consultations with numerous
Marty Biron, a current MSG analyst and former NHL goalie, was asked for his opinion on the rankings this season.
Remember that these are a projection for the 2023–24 season based on historical performance. The teams are evaluated based on how these tandems should look this season rather than how they will look on opening night, as you’ll see in relation to one significant injury. Let the discussions start!
This season, the Blackhawks’ sensational rookie Connor Bedard should score a tonne of goals, but probably not enough to make up for the number of goals these goalies will allow.
In 2022–2023, Mrazek stopped 6.3 goals more than he should have on a Chicago club that was merely looking to improve its chances of winning the draught lottery. Although his partner Alex Stalock played slightly better, he left for the Ducks as a free agency. Söderblom advances up the depth chart after posting a record of 2-10-2 and a.894 save percentage. Commesso, a second-round choice by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2020 draught, chose to forgo his senior year at Boston University in order to sign with the Windy City in April. Although Söderblom and he have some potential, it’s difficult to see either goalie succeeding at this point in the season.
