anyone ruptured their spleen?

[ultimatetruth]

I recently had a grade 3 ruptured spleen due to a ushiro geri in the stomach during sparring, it was treated conservatively so i got to keep my spleen. However my doctor told me that the scarring in my spleen makes it weaker, and more likely to be re-injured and that i am now never allowed to participate in contact sports again, eg sparring. But i have read articles saying people can actually go back to contact sports after 3-6 months or sometimes a year.

So my question is has anyone else ever ruptured their spleen and were you allowed to go back to contact sports and if so after how long? or did you just accept the risk and carry on with sports anyway?

[marie curie]

Wow, first- sorry about your injury. Second, I've never ruptured my spleen, but I have ignored Dr's before after injuries and in the long run it never works out.

I think the big risk with removing your spleen (other than the surgery itself) is for infections due to a weaker immune system. As long as you plan on staying in modern countries (don't go back-packing in Thailand or anything) you may want to go to him and say, "this is very important to me, would I be at more risk sparring with the scar tissue, or living without a spleen"

In any case, I would work with your doctor on this.

[bushido_man96]

Man, that is rough. Talk to the doctor about your options, and get some second opinions as well. Do some research and see what you can come up with.

I think that you could still do your Karate training, but you may have to lay off of the sparring for some time.

[ninjanurse]

Not that I am giving any medical advice here but......risk is present in anything you do and a spleen can be ruptured in many ways-not just by getting kicked in the stomach. It does not make sense to me that a "scarred spleen" is weaker as most scars are stronger than the tissue that originally tore...but I am not a doctor or physiologist so I don't know the facts. I do know that if it was me I would train and take the risk (after a suitable rest time of course) as while the risk of bleeding to death from a ruptured spleen is real, many people live very healthy lives without them and I don't think I would miss mine one bit!

The safest plan is to discuss this with your doctor and get another opinion if necessary. Doctors tend to manage their patients differently and not all are conservative in their management of injuries.

[ultimatetruth]

It does not make sense to me that a "scarred spleen" is weaker as most scars are stronger than the tissue that originally tore...but I am not a doctor or physiologist so I don't know the facts. I do know that if it was me I would train and take the risk (after a suitable rest time of course) as while the risk of bleeding to death from a ruptured spleen is real, many people live very healthy lives without them and I don't think I would miss mine one bit!

Yeah the scarring in the spleen thing didn't make sense to me at first but what they told me was that although the scars are more rigid as a whole they make the spleen inflexible and therefore more likely to be re-injured ie weaker. I'm considering just taking the risk and carrying on coz as the doctor said he is only advising me and can't make me stop karate, so ultimately it's up to me. Also i'm pretty sure i can't request my spleen be taken out, the only way it will be taken out now is if i re-rupture it and the bleeding won't stop itself...and well yeah thats what the doctor is trying to avoid as the whole ruptured spleen situation is life threatening!

[marie curie]

It does not make sense to me that a "scarred spleen" is weaker as most scars are stronger than the tissue that originally tore.

I used to work doing research on wound healing and tissue regeneration, so I've got stuff to say just in case anyone cares

The strong scar tissue is disorganized and is no longer "spleen tissue" and is instead "crazy mixed-up spleen-like tissue" (technical term of course ) Most tissue of the body has a pattern- like a scaffold that you climb or a bridge- that makes it strong, this disorganization breaks that pattern, meaning that at the edges of the scar tissue, it will be very weak and prone to tearing at smaller tensions.

I'm in the corner with ninjanurse- you'd be better off having a doctor that is like, "ok, this may not be the safest route, but if you are going to still train, then [medical advice goes here]." If you have good health insurance, I'd hit another Dr or two to see if one can help you come up with a plan for your health.

[NightOwl]

If you are able to you could get a couple of different opinions. Keep in mind however that risking your health isn't worth skipping out for a break to heal up- spleens come in handy sometimes ya know

[DWx]

Maybe for sparring your sensei will let you wear some protective gear? I think you can buy stuff which you can wear under your gi? Then you can continue sparring but have a some sort of reduced risk. I would get a second opinion though and ask your doctor what he precautions he would advise if you were to continue training.

[pegasi]

I agree with DWx, getting a rib guard or other protector that you can wear under your gi top would be a safer way to allow you to continue to participate, after you heal up, of course. A rib guard is a wraparound shield that is about a foot or so wide, basically only covers the center of the torso (floating ribs area), and so I think it would suffice to cover the midsection where the spleen is.

That way you're not having to wear a full chest protector, yet get that spleen area padded up some.

Follow your doc's advice about time off before you resume even non-sparring class!

[baronbvp]

I ruptured my spleen skateboarding in 1975 at the age of 13 and it was removed. I've led an active life with football, skiing, surfing, and flying jets off carriers for 20 years - a relatively violent living. And I'm not a big guy.

I'm 46 now and have participated in martial arts at various times throughout my adult life. My experience is not exactly the same as someone who has an injured spleen still inside, but I have suffered no ill effects with respect to impacts. On the other hand, Chris Simms of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a pretty bad rupture a couple of years ago and has never been the same football player since

Make sure you get a pneumovax shot since pneumonia is a risk, and don't go anywhere where you could get malaria. Also, I finally had to give up eating raw oysters and lots of sushi due to increased risk of life-threatening infection.

Follow your doctor's orders - but make sure he's a doctor who understands the value of an active life.