Cauliflower Ear Prevention and Treatment (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly)
“ Wrestler ’ s ear, an acute hematoma of the external ear, is normally associated with wrestlers and early athletes who engage in contact sports. It may occur even when protective ear guards are being used. ”
– The Journal for Athletic Training basically, cauliflower ear occurs when the peel and cartilage of the ear separate due to trauma which allows the ear to fill with blood which finally hardens.
How cauliflower ear strikes – Rough contact with the auricle. This damage can happen in an instantaneous in fight sports. For example, one hard takedown, while escaping a hold, or a unmarried accidental punch can cause cauliflower ear. Why is this important? – Unlike a normal bruise where the clotted blood has somewhere to go, the rake in the ear has no elude, so it hardens precisely where it is and then becomes a permanent wave deformity. Long-term consequences – The consequences of in full formed cauliflower auricle range from simply having deformed ears to problems such as :
Trouble using headphones
Prejudice in professional settings
Loss of hearing
The outer edge of the ear can even fold over and die!
The one common consequence for all who experience cauliflower auricle is pain. It hurts when you train, it hurts when you ’ re done, it hurts enough to keep you awake all night !
Cauliflower Ear Misconceptions
One of the biggest misconceptions about cauliflower ear is that most people believe that it ’ mho something that takes years to develop and happens slowly over time. While this can be the casing for some athletes, for many cauliflower ear is something that basically occurs overnight after a single example of injury to the ear.
This is the catchy part of cauliflower auricle and why most people encourage the use of headdress every time person steps on the mat deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as the trouble if its ever not used. Since the 1950 ’ randomness headgear has been an built-in part of the mutant of wrestling with the simple and by and large effective idea of creating a pocket of protect area around the ears so that they are dependable from injury. Most of the time the function of headgear is effective when used correctly. however if used falsely, such as not having the straps correctly tightened, the headgear can shift while wrestling, hitting the ear and causing the lapp injury it was designed to prevent. Malfunctions happen rarely, but what happens identical frequently is lack of conformity in wearing headdress. This is why the misconception that cauliflower ear doesn ’ thyroxine happen right away is indeed dangerous. Although competing in headdress is required for many schools and tournaments, commit international relations and security network ’ t much regulated, and many tournaments leave it up to the choice of the athlete. In fact, the NCAA has been debating whether or not they should continue recommending it to athletes all in all : “ The committee still recommends the function of ear protective covering, but it has been proven that ear protection offers no protection when it comes to concussions, ” Branch said. “ In some cases, the ear protection may irritate or be abrasive to the athlete’s ears and promote cauliflower ear. We felt our collegiate athletes are ripen and educated enough to decide what is best for them and their especial site. ” hypertext transfer protocol : //www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling/article/2017-04-14/ncaa-wrestling-rules-committee-recommends-stiffer-penalties This is why a big number of collegiate wrestlers get cauliflower ear during their freshman class. When students transition from having their parents and/or coaches forcing them to wear headgear to having the opportunity to choose whether or not to use it, the majority of students decide to go without. Most wrestlers will tell you that their headgear is annoying to wear. It dampens hearing, the kuki strap gets sweaty and uncomfortable and worst of all it creates even more friction and offers another cover for your adversary tied though they aren ’ t supposed to grab it. With cauliflower ear much happening due to a unmarried float to the ear and the disfavor for headgear, it ’ second no curiosity so many wrestlers end up with the disfigurement .
What to do if the ear is damaged or an athlete gets cauliflower ear?
* This is vitamin a good a time as any to say that you should consult a aesculapian professional before making any classify of decisiveness or action regarding your body and health. Since cauliflower auricle is permanent once the fluid in the ear hardens, time is actually of the kernel once the auricle experiences trauma. immediate action before the auricle fills will prevent the motivation to perform any screen of process and we will discuss a test way to accomplish this in a moment. If the auricle is allowed to fill with fluid, the fluent must be removed before it sets or there is no direction to repair the deformity except for dearly-won reconstructive operation .
Draining Cauliflower Ear
There are two main procedures doctors may take to remove the fluid from a damaged ear. Each method acting has pros and cons.
1 ) A doctor can make a modest incision with a scalpel to drain the accumulate blood. He or she may need to reconnect tissues using stitches and apply a especial bandage to put coerce on the area. This blackmail dress may need to stay in place for respective days to a week. The site will require monitoring for signs of infection or signs that extra treatment may be needed. Antibiotics may besides be prescribed.
2 ) A medical professional may besides use a syringe to pull the fluent from the ear. This is the most common version of treatment, frequently seen on the internet in video of coaches and teammates draining the ears. once again, we do not recommend dealing with a amply damaged ear on one ’ sulfur own.
The trouble with the incision is that it is very irritating, leaves a big scar, and the athlete is unable to practice or compete for weeks at a clock time. The benefit is that the stitches keep the ear from refilling before the athlete returns to the mats.
The trouble with draining via a needle or syringe is that it still leaves scar tissue ( though less than a scalpel ) which makes it easier for recurrence in the future, and without the stitches to keep the ear pucker together, the ear simply refills with fluent again and again. Since many drain their ears on their own, there is besides the risk of contagion.
besides, neither of these methods do anything long terminus. The strategies discussed above may work to keep the ears shape in the consequence, but the moment they return to the mat they are in risk of a reoccurrence of cauliflower ear, starting the procedure all over again .
Ear Splints
This is why the newer technology of ear splint has become so popular.
The basic idea is that the athlete makes a shape of their auricle, preferably before their ear is damaged. The cast is then wear off the mat like a retainer to compress the ear after trauma, ensuring that it doesn ’ triiodothyronine takes on fluid. If fluid is not allowed to build up in the auricle, then cauliflower ear can not develop. not only does it work to prevent cauliflower ear tied if an athlete chooses not to wear headgear, but for those doomed enough to have a filled ear, it makes the bring around process faster and less atrocious. This serve was first documented in the 1992 article from The Journal of Athletic Training “ A Simple Splint for Wrestler ’ s Ear ” by Thomas Keating MD, and again in the 2004 article “ Case Presentation : A Novel way of Treating Acute Cauliflower Ear in a professional Rugby Player ” in the british Medical Journal. here ’ s a flying video recording of Corey James, the Head Athletic Trainer for USA Wrestling talking about why they use EarSplintz .
“I think it’s a phenomenal product for the general public to be able to use…Being able to apply that in the youth setting really allows the athletes to keep the shape of their ear better. Especially if they’re not interested in wearing headgear.”
This is novel for a few different reasons. First and foremost, headgear now becomes a bonus protection rather than the true prevention of cauliflower ear. If an athlete doesn ’ t break headgear, they can plainly wear their pre molded splint american samoa soon as they get off the mat when their ear is hurting to prevent the auricle from filling. Second, where normally person who experiences trauma to the auricle would need to stay off the mats for days at a time, the auricle splint helps the ear heal faster so they can return to the mat the adjacent day. Third, if an ear does fill with fluid, the doctor can now use a syringe to drain without fear of fluid accretion since the mold will keep the ear compressed to prevent refilling. One concluding benefit is that the molds can be put in the deep-freeze to wear as a cold compress. This is incredibly soothing when dealing with the pain of a hurt ear. here is a video recording of our partner EarSplintz showing how the molds are made : EarSplintz has been helping grappling athletes prevent and treat cauliflower ear for the past 10 years and the NWCA ( adenine well as USA Wrestling ) are gallant to have partnered with EarSplintz on the mission to prevent cauliflower auricle for all athletes who don ’ metric ton want the disfigurement .
This is the final aspect of cauliflower ear that is potentially dangerous to the sport of wrestling is the thought that cauliflower ear is a badge of honor.
This international relations and security network ’ t something we can truly make slowly changes to as it can be rooted deep in teams ’ cultures. All we can actually point out is the consequences of cauliflower auricle to the wrestler and the sport. The more prevailing cauliflower ear is among wrestlers, the hard it becomes to recruit new members into the fun when the athlete or the parents are now scared that the athlete will develop this disfigurement if they choose to participate. There is no on-key advantage to having cauliflower ear. It hurts, it compromises performance, it means time off the mat and lidless nights. We urge coaches to have a conversation with their athletes and their parents about cauliflower ear and how it can be prevented easily with a tool like EarSplintz, and to encourage their athletes to focus more on their actual trophies, their friendships, and the cognition and experience they ’ ve gained through their sport alternatively of looking for something like cauliflower ear to “ prove ” that they are hood and that they have skill.
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After all, there may come a time in their lives when “ the badge of honor ” becomes an unnecessary hurdle on the way towards their goals .
Learn More about EarSplintz at www.EarSplintz.com and use promocode NWCA for an extra $10 off!
If you’re a coach and want to help protect your team please visit EarSplintz.com/nwca-coaches
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