David Kennedy Thompson

Copyright David Thompson 2006

Disabled List

X-Rays

FRACTURE SCAPULA AND GRADE 3 DISLOCATION OF THE CALVICLE

In the last corner of the last stage, David was taken-out in a crash at the Longsjo Stage Race in Fitchburg, MA in 2003.  The pile-up threw David over his handlebars and onto the back of his right shoulder, dislocating his right clavicle and fracturing the coracoid process of his right scapula as well.  Figure 1 is a x-ray of David right shoulder after surgery.  You can see the stainless steel screw re-attaching the coracoid process to the main portion of the scapula.  The screw is approximately the diameter of at pencil and 2.5 to 3 inches long.  David held his 2nd position in the GC because the crash was in the last kilometer.

 

Life as a profession triathlete can be painful.  It’s survival of the fittest, and injuries are part of the job.   As you can see from the x-rays, David has overcome his share of broken bones.

 

MULITPLE FRACTURE OF THE LEFT CLAVICLE AND HAIRLINE FRACTRUE OF LEFT SCAPULA

While enjoy some cyclo-cross racing in 2005, an off camber, downhill corner got the best of David while he was trying to make a pass.  “I knew it right away.  I heard the sharp crack, and you can feel and taste the heat and blood.  It feels like breaking a pencil under your skin.”  Figure 2 shows the fractures of the clavicle quite clearly.  No surgery was required, and the sharp edges of the facture were reabsorbed or covered up by new bone tissue.   After 7 weeks and some physical therapy, David was fully functional and back swimming.  However, he was a riding the trainer 48 hours later and running on the 14th day.

BONE SCAN - INJECTED WITH RADIOATIVE TECHNETIUM (TC 99) TO FIND A STRESS FRACTURE IN THE TIBIA

I ran enough my senior year of college cross country to give myself a stress fracture.  These images are from the second reoccurrence a year later.  Fortunately, all this time away from running helped me discover my cycling talent.

BONE SCAN - CLOSE UP ON TARGET AREA (LEFT TIBIA)

The fracture isn’t visible in the image because the tibia has already healed.  This was the check to make sure I was good to go.  The doctors wanted to be cautious because this was the second occurrence in 12 months.