This past weekend the Philadelphia Eagles had a cluster of players injured that had to leave the game early. The worst injury was Brandon Graham who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles. Graham who tweeted, “I will just be leading from the sidelines this year working to be great for 2022”, likely will undergo surgery to repair the ruptured tendon. This type of injury is one injury that sidelines a football player for the rest of the season and also requires almost a full year of rehab.
The achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the body. A ruptured Achilles tendon likely occurs during a sporting event with an injury. This injury occurs when there is sudden forced plantar flexion of the foot or sometimes when the foot is already plantarflexed and there is a violent dorsiflexion motion. The typical presentation is when an athlete gets severe pain in the back of the calf and sometimes hears a ‘pop’.
The treatment for achilles tendon rupture can be non-operative or operative. Most likely an MRI can be performed to aid in how severe the rupture is and which treatment could be more beneficial. The most important aspect of the recovery is the rehabilitation in order to regain plantar flexion strength and get back to activity. From all of us at Brucato Foot and Ankle Surgery, we wish Brandon Graham a safe and speedy recovery!
