A member of the Chicago Boyz broke his tibia in three places Tuesday when he landed awkwardly during an acrobatic performance on America’s Got Talent.
The injury occurred near the end of the group’s routine, which featured an energetic ensemble of rope and people jumping. As you can see in the video below, a few members of the group used a trampoline to launch over a human jump rope. One of the members got his left leg caught underneath him as he landed on the mat (2:40 of the clip).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8CnUvkzo7M
The injury was actually more severe than it looked on television. The performer fractured his tibia in three places, and he had to be taken to the hospital to be treated for his injury. Howie Mendell told viewers during the Wednesday’s results show that the performer was doing fine, despite needing crutches to get around.
Although he’ll need to rely on crutches for the foreseeable future, the performer played off the injury like a true professional. He finished the routine with a smile on his face, and he told host Nick Cannon that he felt “wonderful” and “couldn’t be better” after the performance.
“Of course, you have to stay strong for the audience,” the performer said when asked about battling through the pain. “I love America!”
Dr. Silverman comments
We have seen some bad injuries in the past get caught on live television over the last few months.
These Chicago Boyz are amazing. Unfortunately, the performer landed wrong, much like Louisville’s Kevin Ware. The energy of the performer’s injury was less than than Ware’s, and while his leg snapped, it didn’t go as far out of place.
A tibia fracture can be treated with or without surgery. With surgery, you can usually walk right away; without surgery, weight bearing is limited. Both heal well when the fracture is stable and minimally displaced. With displaced fractures or unstable ones, surgery does much better.
These types of fractures take 3-5 months to completely heal, so we won’t be seeing this acrobat for the remainder of America’s Got Talent.
I am impressed that he kept up the routine until the end. What an amazing pain tolerance he has. Best of luck healing.
Related source: NBC, WeLoveTVMore.com