Abstract: Many if not most of us watched in utter disbelief and horror last September 11th as Aaron Rogers, the newly acquired $75 million dollar quarterback with the New York Jets just 4 snaps into the new season, suffered an Achilles Tendon ruptures (ATR) in his inaugural game on nationally televised Monday Night Football with his new and excited team and demanding fanbase. With cell phones in hand, we watched as our X apps lit up with claims of an excess of ATRs in the NFL in recent years and much of the blame placed on the new rubberized turf surfaces in place in most of the NFL stadiums. That first week of the NFL season the NFL Players Association, the NFLPA, put out a statement to this effect that demanded removal of rubberized turf surfaces throughout the NFL! With Kirk Cousins devastating ATR a few weeks later, amongst 21 others this season, and Aaron Rogers return to practice after a mere seven to eight weeks post-injury, this conundrum remains foremost in our hyper-questioning minds.
The prevalence of ATRs has increased 3-5 fold over the last half to quarter century. Numerous research studies are in play to identify the key factors contributing to this injury and identify preventive methods to reduce the risk. Factors being explored include: areas that can’t be modified (age, and anthropometrics), lack of sufficient preparatory training, surface (rubberized turf vs grass), equipment (shoes, braces, taping), and use of anabolic and corticosteroids.
Source: Timothy E. Hewett, Chad D. Lavender, and Andrew L. Schaver. 2024. An Apparent Achilles Heel of the NFL: Have Achilles Tendon Injuries Significantly Increased to Unacceptably High Incidence Levels in the NFL and if so, why? A Clinical Insight. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2024; 19(2): 145–147.Published online 2024 Feb 2. doi: 10.26603/001c.92082
