The St. Louis Rams are in pain: Two of their top players—left tackle Jake Long and quarterback Sam Bradford—suffered ACL knee injuries in the same season. And these very players had just recovered from those injured ACLs.
Reinjuring a torn ACL is not uncommon, says a prominent Los Angeles sports medicine doctor.
“It’s actually very common,” says Izzy Silva, M.D. from Healthpointe, an Orange County sports medicine clinic. “Athletes who suffer a torn ACL are much, much more likely to reinjure. So it seems like bad luck, but the reality is it is likely to happen again in the higher level athlete.”
Dr. Silva says at the Orange County sports medicine clinic they treat professional athletes and amateurs as well.
The two St. Louis Rams players were injured two months apart.
Last year, Long signed a four-year, $34 million contract with the Rams. He re-tore his ACL last Sunday battling Kansas City. He had his first injury to his right knee on Dec. 22, 2013 against Tampa Bay.
Bradford meanwhile re-tore his ACL in a pre-season game in August against Cleveland. He tore his ACL the first time Oct., 2013 playing against the Carolina Panthers.
So were the players sent back into the game too soon?
“I am not their doctor,” says Dr. Silva from the Orange County sports medicine clinic Healthpointe.. “My best guess is probably not. These players take punishing blows and once the knee is injured many are more likely to get a tear a second time.”
Neil Katz, M.D., a Los Angeles sports medicine physician says it’s likely both players will need surgery. Surgery options versus conservative management are considered after examination by the players’ doctors. Unfortunately with every injury the chances of a full recovery diminishes.
“It’s hard to say but even when you have an athlete in great shape otherwise, the prognosis for full recovery is not always that great. But it’s unclear how that figures into each of the players and their football careers,” says Dr. Katz.
ACL injuries are common in professional and also in youth sports.
Doctors believe that players who suffer ACL injuries usually land in a flat-footed position, instead of the balls of their feet and usually will have sudden deceleration forces applied to their knee.
For more information please visit: www.healthpointemd.net
SOURCE: Healthpointe Medical Clinics
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