NFL Knee Injuries: Rest & Recovery
- NFL players face a higher risk of specific knee injuries, especially tears of the extensor mechanism, when they have less rest between games, according to a new study...
- Steven DeFroda,the study's author,emphasized the severity of these injuries.
- Analyzing data from the 2009-2023 NFL seasons,the research team discovered that players were nearly four times more prone to suffer an extensor mechanism tear after a short rest...
Rest Plays Key role in NFL Player Knee Injury Risk
NFL players face a higher risk of specific knee injuries, especially tears of the extensor mechanism, when they have less rest between games, according to a new study by University of Missouri School of Medicine researchers. The extensor mechanism, critical for knee stability, involves muscles and tendons that straighten the knee.
Dr. Steven DeFroda,the study’s author,emphasized the severity of these injuries. “The extensor mechanism is critical for knee stability and joint extension, and such an injury could threaten an athlete’s career,” defroda said. “Damage can make it very painful to walk, let alone play.”
Analyzing data from the 2009-2023 NFL seasons,the research team discovered that players were nearly four times more prone to suffer an extensor mechanism tear after a short rest week (less than seven days) compared to longer rest periods. Similarly, players were almost five times more likely to experience a tear during a normal rest week (exactly seven days) than after longer rest weeks. The study found no significant difference in injury risk between short and normal rest weeks.
The study also revealed that playing surface plays a role. Players were at greater risk of ruptures on artificial turf compared to grass, aligning with existing research indicating that artificial surfaces absorb less impact force.
DeFroda suggests that these findings highlight the cumulative effect of microtrauma over the course of a season. “This does highlight that certain injuries likely occur because of ’microtrauma’ that accumulates over a long season, and that longer periods of rest could be warranted for athletes, especially if they are showing signs of fatigue or an inability to recovery between games,” DeFroda said.
What’s next
DeFroda hopes this research will inform strategies to prevent injuries. Monitoring recovery time and the cumulative effects of injury is crucial, especially as athletes play more games in shorter periods.