I don't know anything about scaphoids, but she seemed to think she had injured her arm/wrist doing that back-flip. Adrenalin would have kept her going, but an injury would still have impeded her and would, I think, explain the mistakes that crept in at the end of that routine.

She was clearly in pain during the waltz and said afterwards that she didn't seem to be able to straighten her arm. It had improved for the AS so whatever pain-killers she'd been given must have kicked in, but her arm extensions weren't as good as they had been in that dance's previous incarnation, so it was clear to me that whatever happened did hamper her performance.

Ignazio, I guess it depends on whether you think of Strictly as a sprint (with lots of heats before the final), or a marathon. Given that most viewers will have taken into account the whole series and not just one show, it would be unfair (IMO) to base judgements purely on last night's dances. And, if you erase from your mind everything that's gone before and just concentrate on those four dances, nobody would be able to mention the 'J' word. Erm, that's a point in favour of your view, come to think of it.

Seriously, I thought Matt was a lot better than the judges gave him credit for; he was much more relaxed than he has been previously and I enjoyed his performances. But he hasn't done a single dance that made me go 'Wow!' - only Kara and Scott (with his jive) have done that throughout the series. Tonight, I'd have voted for Kara and Artem for that gorgeous rumba alone - the best dance of the series, IMO. So, for me, Kara and Artem are the most worthy of worthy winners. I'm so happy I can't sleep, so I'll try to write some limericks instead.

I didn't realize that Kara had been so badly injured, poor thing. She did brilliantly. I was delighted that she and Artem won, they deserved it. The rumba was particularly beautiful, I thought.
It was such an exciting evening, all three finalists were great, I am going to miss SCD so much (I say the same every year).

I winced when I watched her waltz and AS back, the pain is etched on her face. I wish she could have won on a more positive note.

Agree.


So did I especially when Tess grabbed her bad arm and Kara winced. Really sums Tess up for me idiot.

I hope Kara hasn't broken her scaphoid. I broke mine nearly 13 weeks ago, after putting my hand out to save myself when I fell. I worked all day in considerable pain, and my break showed up as a bad one in the first x-ray, which is quite rare (sometimes it takes a scan to show up a break in the scaphoid). I'm hoping I've avoided the need for surgery, but although out of plaster now, I'm still very sore.

She seemed to have some discomfort in her upper arm and straightening her arm as well though.

I wonder how close she came to having to give up.

I wondered that too , adrenaline would keep her going for a bit , but as it progressed you could see she wasnt quite there and in a lot of pain .Brave brave girl to carry on when all you want to do is lie down and cry .

I am over the moon for them both as they have both carried on to wow me despite obvious pain on two occasions .

I mentioned this on the show thread last night, so at the risk of repeating myself I think she has broken her elbow, as the way she was holding her arm and was unable to completely straighten it, reminds me of what my arm looked like. I broke mine 5 weeks ago, (though I wasn't doing backflips at the time), just a fall where I put out my hands to save me. Initially I thought I'd broken something in my wrist, but it soon became apparent that I couldn't straighten my arm and though the wrist was very painful, it wasn't as bad as the pain I was having in my forearm.

The doctor I saw in A and E couldn't see a fracture on my x ray, but diagnosed a break in my elbow joint because of my symptoms. I was given a sling and an appointment for the fracture clinic. When I saw the consultant at the fracture clinic, he told me I had broken my humerus and showed me the break on the x ray. I didn't have to have a cast, but to wear the sling for a further 3 weeks, (making it 4 in total). I was told not to use my arm nor try to straighten it and was then shunted to physio where I was given some exercises for my hand and wrist.

I saw the physio again, just over a week ago and was then given exercises for my arm, and am due to see her again on Christmas Eve of all days. I still can't straighten my arm and was told by the physio that it is very common with this sort of injury, that I may never be able to straighten it but it should be fully functional.

Well nothing has been announced yet about her arm. Obviously as she was using an ice pack after her show dance it was a painful injury but until they make a statement, we KNOW nothing!! I noticed that Kara, for the first time, seemed a bit cool towards Artim who seemed to be all over her and she seemed to be back-tracking regarding their relationship. Hopefully, it was not just another manufactured romance to increase their telephone votes. Perhaps she was simply in pain and feeling rather awful. I will be very disappointed if this romance turns out to be a PR exercise!!

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukp...1292761751364A

The injury has just been confirmed as torn ligaments

So nothing serious then.

I clearly could see she was in some pain in her arms. But i didn't know she has got this injury,my iplayer didn't work many times,so no idea whether there was any reference at all. After seeing this thread only,my doubt was confirmed. Her arm lines were not perfect as it used to be in her previous dances. Good on her not mentioning it when they were asking for votes. Otherwise there might be some people ready to start threads against her. But even with pain,she is the beautiful and gracious dancer. Kara and Artem are 100% deserved to be winners.

Depending on the severity, torn ligaments can result in permanent weakness in the affected area, permanently restricted movement in the arm, and the need for surgery....so, as you say, nothing serious then!!

Not serious as in heart attack perhaps, but torn ligaments are notoriously painful and often more than a fracture .
What a brave girl to carry on like she did ,
.

Torn ligaments can be very serious! Look how many athletes' and footballers' careers have been impeded or even finished after ligament injury.

soft tissue injuries such as torn ligaments are often as painful as fractures and often take longer to heal

I honestly don't know how she managed to keep going last night, and with a smile on her face too! She must have been in agony.

Thought she had torn ligaments?

Wish the media would all get the correct facts.

Her arm clearly isn't broken or fractured or it would be swollen and there's no way she'd have done that show dance with a fracture of anything.

Neither of her final dances were as good as they could or should have been, as it was clear her normally beautiful arm extensions were lacking. For anybody who's interested, obsessive K&A fans have spotted points in their waltz where she could not disguise her pain. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode..._Final_Part_2/

At about 19.06 right at the end of the dance, she yelps 'ah!' as Artem flings her hand around, and you can see she protects it from their final moves. Then, at 19.20 she whispers something to Artem and he looks so concerned at her arm as they go back towards the judges. At 19.34 Brucie grasps her hand and she reacts visibly. Then look at how Artem protects that hand during the judges' comments.

What amazes me is that she smiled throughout - what a trouper!

I think she didn't know what was wrong until she went to A&E so she might have though she had a fracture. However with not much swelling that is an indication of no break.

The OP only surmised it was a break.

I've broken bones and torn ligaments and without a doubt, the torn ligaments were the worst. The injury was more painful, it took longer to heal, I needed 18 months of physio. Several years later, my ankle is still weak. It can be serious and debilitating.