Newswise — Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is making a comeback, once again. Last season Rodgers was trying to come out of retirement with the New York Jets when his season came to an abrupt and early end, suffering an achilles rupture only a few snaps into his first regular season game.
Now, about eleven months after undergoing surgery to repair his torn achilles Aaron Rodgers is set to take the field again.
Rodgers had a speed bridge procedure, which was intended to expedite the recovery process. Typically an achilles repair is done by using heavy stitches to sew the achilles together side to side. For the average person this means immobilizing the ankle in a cast. “With this procedure a patient is in a cast for four to six weeks, before they transition to a walking boot,” Rocco Bassora, M.D., orthopedic sports medicine physician at Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center. “Typically it means it takes time for patients to regain strength and range of motion.”
“With a speed bridge procedure instead of the side to side stitching, the repair is sutured into the heel, for a stronger repair. It doesn’t require a cast and patients can begin bearing weight on it sooner, allowing patients to prevent losing their range of motion,” Bassora explains.
The average person can return to their normal activities within four to five months, but for an elite athlete like Aaron Rodgers the timeline is longer. “The level of game for Aaron Rodgers or an elite athlete like him puts greater pressure on the tendon than the average weekend warrior,” Stephen Silver, M.D., chair of sports medicine and orthopedics at Hackensack University Medical Center says. “For someone to come back at the caliber of an NFL player takes nine to twelve months for the muscles to regain their strength.”
Aaron Rodgers is coming back eleven months after suffering the injury, and experts expect him to be ready to play for the start of the regular season in September, despite celebrating his 40th birthday. “Aaron Rodgers is not the typical 40 year old. His regime, strength and conditioning prepares him to play with the best on the football field, despite last season’s injury,” Dr. Silver says.
Rodgers had joined the Jets in the 2023 off-season, coming from the Green Bay Packers, with the goal of bringing Gang Green to the playoffs, and possibly the Super Bowl, but that dream was delayed a year with the achilles injury.
Experts say while age can play a role in these types of injuries, Achille tendon tears are common in athletes of all ages and abilities. People typically make a full recovery.
Hackensack Meridian Health experts in orthopedics and sports medicine are available to speak about Achilles tendon tears and the recovery from it.
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