Rodeo physicians saddle up for wild ride
Blood, gore, broken bones and open wounds – it’s just another day for the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo physicians.
Just ask Dr. Steve Brotherton, an orthopedic surgeon at the Texas Health Care Bone and Joint Clinic, who is currently medical director for the event.
He once treated a cowboy for an open fracture incurred during a rodeo event. The patient, happy with his care,
regularly returned to see Brotherton for future orthopedic needs.
The cowboy was from Canada.
“Cowboys are really loyal patients,” Brotherton said.
Brotherton is one of eight local physicians who provides medical care to cowboys, exhibitors and spectators during the event, which runs through Feb. 3. In addition to the physicians, there are other health care professionals and safety personnel who make sure that bucking bulls and slick patches of ice from any notorious “Stock Show weather” won’t keep people away the city’s signature event.
This 112th Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo is the second one during which Brotherton will serve as medical director, and it will be his 21st year as a physician at the event.
Between the high injury rates for cowboys and the illnesses of some spectators, the physicians and nurses who cover shifts during the day and night are kept busy but usually not overwhelmed.
“The injury rate for bull riders is about one out of every 12 rides,” Brotherton said. “It’s like taking two football players out of the game every play.”
Brotherton, who also treats football players as the orthopedic consultant for his alma mater, Texas Christian University, said that developments in safety gear have cut down on some extremely bad injuries, like goring by bullsÂ’ horns.
Vest and chest protectors can offer some protection to the spine and vital organs, but Brotherton said cowboys were still reluctant to adopt helmets, which can protect against concussions and other head injuries but arenÂ’t really conducive to waving oneÂ’s hat to the crowd.
Cowboys’ injuries tend toward the “broken bones, hurt necks, knees getting wiped out — stuff like that,” Brotherton said.
When a cowboy is hurt, the trainers are the first ones out in the arena to assess the damage. The physician on call and a nurse can then be beckoned if need be, and thereÂ’s an ambulance and crew of emergency medical technicians on hand to transport someone to the emergency room.
Also on hand at rodeo events is the Justin Sportsmedicine Team, headquartered in Dallas. This team of health care professionals is the official sports medicine provider of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, and travels with a trailer stocked with medical equipment to treat an estimated 6,000 rodeo-related injuries and illnesses per year.
The future cowboys often run into injuries as well, Brotherton said.
“The kids in the calf scramble, there’s always one of them getting beat up and we’ll see them,” he said.
Sometimes, itÂ’s not the cowboys who have a serious incident. Dr. Steve Meyers, a sports medicine specialist, also at the THC Bone and Joint Clinic, had his first experience as a Stock Show physician in 2007. He said the most memorable patient he treated was a young child, about 4 years old, who was having an asthma attack. Meyers and the nurse with him were debating whether to send the child to an emergency room when the breathing treatments started working.
Also, Meyers said, sometimes the support staff needs treatment.
“I saw a police officer that was having the Stock Show crud,” he said, referring to a bad cold that was going around.
Brotherton said respiratory problems make up a large percentage of the cases he sees. Since the arenas are indoors, dust is trapped and can irritate the throat and lungs; additionally, with so many animals around, allergies can flare up. When smoking was banned inside the buildings, though, the rate of respiratory problems dropped by about a quarter, Brotherton said.
Russell Grunewald serves as the department manager for safety and first aid during the Stock Show. He has a long career in the safety business, and is a retired director of environmental health and safety at UT-Arlington. He said that his job involves looking out for safety hazards and ensuring they are taken care of, such as making sure spills are cleaned up and aisles are clear of tripping hazards and electrical cords.
“We have no super-hazardous area in the Stock Show,” said Grunewald.
Meyers said that he covered about four rodeos last year and is probably doing five this year. He had thought about getting involved with the Stock Show physicians for a while, he said, and Brotherton was able to bring him on last year. Now that heÂ’s done it once, he has no plans of stopping.
“It’s a fun, worthwhile act,” he said.
The physicians are paid a nominal fee, but none of them pocket the money; instead, it goes toward a charity fund. Brotherton said that everybody who comes out the Stock Show does so because theyÂ’re contributing something toward the culture of Fort Worth, and in his 21 years heÂ’s only seen one doctor only serve for one year. Eight doctors is the right number to cover events well without schedules getting too complicated, he said, and he is frequently asked if there is a chance to serve.
“Most of the time there’re people who’ve been asking, ‘Hey, if you ever need someone, I can help out,’” he said. “It’s certainly more than a rodeo—a lot more.”
Contact Bassett at ebassett@bizpress.net
