It’s Football Season! Here is Week 1 NFL Injury Spotlight: Aaron Rodgers with a Complete Achilles Tendon Tear

Aaron Rodgers made his opening debut as the New York Jets quarterback during this week’s Monday Night Football. After just 4 snaps into the first quarter of the game, Rodgers was sacked with his left foot caught underneath him. It has been confirmed that Aaron Rodgers has suffered a complete achilles tendon rupture to his left leg. Rodgers will be out for the rest of the season.

In order to understand the rehab process for an achilles tendon rupture, we should talk about the importance of the achilles tendon and how it affects our daily activity performance.

The achilles tendon attaches at the heel (calcaneus) and is where the gastrocnemius and soleus muscle meet (calf). It helps with the movement of our ankle, specifically going up onto your toes and with actions such as pressing down on a gas pedal. It also helps in overall stability of our foot and ankle.

The achilles tendon is most commonly injured when overstretched. In a minor achilles injury, people usually have a feeling of strain in the calf, mild difficulty pointing their toes down, feeling of tightness, and difficulty with activities such as walking and going up and down stairs.

Aaron Rodger’s case is different. As Rodgers was taken down, his calf and Achilles tendon were overstretched beyond its stretching capacity, causing his tendon to completely tear and his calf muscle

Common symptoms of Achilles tendon rupture are: Hearing a “pop”

* Immediate sharp pain and swelling

* Redness

* Inability to walk and push off of foot

* Divot/Depression in the tendon that can be seen or felt

So what does this mean for Aaron Rodgers and how does PT help in this situation? Aaron Rodgers will have his achilles tendon repaired if he wants to continue playing pro football next season. PT’s can help by:

* Prescribing exercises which target ankle mobility, stability, and strength

* Improve overall walking mechanics

* Return to sport with sport specific activities such as running, jumping, and twisting

* Provide interventions to prevent injury to this area again!

Published September 14, 2023 | Posted in NFL Injury Spotlight.