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The Injury Insider

Boldin's brush with tragedy

It’s always heart-wrenching to see a player lie motionless on the field after a vicious hit in football. Just ask Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner who in week 4 overthrew a pass to star wide receiver Anquan Boldin leading him straight into a bone-crunching, helmet-to-helmet hit in the endzone. Later in the week, Warner admitted that he seriously considered retiring as a result of Boldin’s injury as he told Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports:

"Something scary like that just makes you contemplate what’s really important and puts football in perspective. It’s things like that make you say, ‘This game isn’t everything, and I’m not sure if I can do this anymore.’ Because the bottom line is that all I really want is to be able to go home to my wife and kids."

So let’s take a closer look at Boldin’s injury:

After watching the brutal hit and Boldin’s neck snap violently back, it looks as if this is most likely a tragic neck or spinal injury. Warner told The Associated Press that it was the worst hit he has seen in his 12-year career.

Appearances aside, tests have revealed that Boldin has no extensive trauma to his neck or spinal cord, but rather a frontal sinus fracture.

Now it may seem like Boldin has dodged a bullet, and considering what could have happened he has, but sinus fractures can be serious injuries in their own right.

According to eMedicine.com, a mismanaged sinus fracture can lead to life-threatening intracranial complications like a brain abscess. In Boldin’s case, the Cardinals opted for surgery to fix the problem likely keeping him out for at least 10 days which includes the upcoming week 5 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

As far as what Boldin must do to get back on the field, it’s rest, rest and more rest. He also has to avoid any kind of contact or strenuous activities, i.e. football, while he does so.

In some cases, late complications from the surgery can occur up to a decade after the injury, which is why long-term follow-up care is often mandatory with sinus fracture patients.

Now if you still don’t think that the hit was all that bad, consider this: according to eMedicine, it requires between 800 and 2200 lbs. of force to fracture the frontal sinus.

In fact, the leading cause of frontal sinus fractures is car accidents. High-impact sports injuries are the second most common.

NY Jets safety Eric Smith, the player that hit Boldin helmet-to-helmet, was fined $50,000 and suspended one game for the hit.