# Crazy injury that my teacher told me about! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 21, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-injury-that-my-teacher-told-me-about/170079 "2003-04-21T18:00:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fuel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fuel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuel)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-injury-that-my-teacher-told-me-about/170079/1 "2003-04-21T18:00:34Z")
My old high school Chemistry teacher told me this story. Although I didn’t witness it, he probably would not lie about this. I am just wondering if it is possible. He was a retired weightlifter. 20 years ago, he was on gear (steroids) and he was deadlifting 700+ pounds. His back got so filled with blood that his skin ruptured and blood exploded all over the gym. I don’t remember exactly what happened to him, but he walks hunched over to this day. Is this possible? Has anyone every heard of this happening? I would think your eyes would explode first, but then again, on roids, who knows? ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-injury-that-my-teacher-told-me-about/170079/2 "2003-04-21T19:26:59Z")
First you’ll feel a pulling sensation on your leg… ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-injury-that-my-teacher-told-me-about/170079/3 "2003-04-21T19:31:52Z")
I’m just having a flashback of **Saturday Night Live’s** _Steroid Olympics_\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-injury-that-my-teacher-told-me-about/170079/4 "2003-04-21T19:52:32Z")
There was a thread on this board a couple of years ago that (I think) was about gross sports injuries. Of course Joe Theismann’s leg was one of them, but someone responded that they had seen a weight lifting competition, and one of the athletes knees, um, kinda _buckled_ underneath the weight. I can’t for the life of me find that thread, and I’ve tried searching with everything I can think of, but the poster made it clear that the guy seemed to have blown out his knees during the lift. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-injury-that-my-teacher-told-me-about/170079/5 "2003-04-21T20:28:35Z")
I think we’d all know of something that horrific if it actually happened. And I kind of doubt he’d be around to tell the story. ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-injury-that-my-teacher-told-me-about/170079/6 "2003-04-21T20:46:23Z")
There’s a photo on Snopes of a weightlifter, who during a competition strained so hard that his **rectum prolapsed!!**. Snopes debunks the accompanying story that it happened during a Pennsylvania weightlifting competition, but the guy is wearing weightlifting gear. The photo’s legit (though not for the squeamish), but I don’t think I’m allowed to link to it here. Do a search for “Pennsylvania” on Snopes. ---
**Author:** ![Fuel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fuel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuel)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-injury-that-my-teacher-told-me-about/170079/7 "2003-04-21T23:30:49Z")
I happen to have a pic of a guy whose tibia broke in half under a bar. I’m not quite sure if we can post pics here so I won’t go there, but it’s like the guy has a 2nd joint in his leg! ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-injury-that-my-teacher-told-me-about/170079/8 "2003-04-21T23:48:10Z")
I’m getting whoozy… Where’s the barfy smiley? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-injury-that-my-teacher-told-me-about/170079/9 "2003-04-22T01:20:33Z")
I’m a little skeptical. I’ve seen (as an ER doc) people who have completely ruptured their aorta (the body’s largest artery) and their vena cava (the largest vein), both of which are rapidly fatal (\>90% mortality). Neither had so much blood beneath their skin that the skin burst. There is a lot of potential space under skin, which is pretty elastic, and the back is awfully big. People bleeding from the kidney or spleen get a lot of blood that tracks around to the back, but I’ve never seen this break the skin either. That does not mean it’s impossible, though. People walk hunched over for a variety of other reasons. I’m not saying your teacher is misleading you, but I’m confused as to where the blood was coming from in the absence of a penetrating wound to his back.