After a fairly quiet Week 4, last week was quite eventful for New York sports fans as three of the Big Blue’s starters were ruled out during the game. While it looks like QB, Daniel Jones is on track to start in Sunday’s matchup against the LA Rams, two other key offensive weapons – Saquon Barkley and Kenny Golladay – will likely sit out this week’s contest.
Read on to get the PT’s scoop on these star players’ injuries and their recovery process.
Kenny Golladay – WR, New York Giants – “Hyperextended Knee”
The wide-out sustained his knee injury during the first quarter of last week’s game against Dallas. While Golladay initially tried returning to play, the pain was too severe and he did not return after halftime. When the knee is hyper extended, medical staff tend to worry about the primary stabilizing ligaments in the knee such as the ACL, PCL, collateral ligaments and meniscus. Compromise to any of those soft tissue structures can be season ending. Fortunately for Golladay, there have been no reports of any serious damage to the knee with media outlets reporting only a “hyperextended knee”. Such a diagnosis may include potential injury to the meniscus or other less crucial knee anatomy, but we may never find out until later or following the season.
Physical therapy for such an injury would initially include initially reducing pain and swelling, then progressing into restoring range of motion and strengthening. Golladay also suffered from a hamstring injury during the pre-season. Athletic trainers will likely do a comprehensive evaluation to determine if there is any correlation between the summer injury with the one sustained last week.
Saquon Barkley – RB, New York Giants – Ankle Sprain
Giants fans everywhere were on the edge of their seat when all-star running back, Saquon Barkley, went down with an ankle injury in Week 5. Given the severity of the appearance of the injury along with Barkley’s history of ankle problems, it was easy to anticipate the worst outcome for the rest of the season. However, the Giants informed fans that medical staff had ruled out any fracture and that Barkley was diagnosed with a low ankle sprain.
We’ve reported on high ankle sprains in the past – so how does a low ankle sprain differ? The differentiation in diagnosis concerns the anatomy of the ankle. While a high ankle sprain involves the syndesmosis of the lower leg (the fibrous tissue between the tibia and fibula bones), a low ankle sprain affects the ligaments between the fibula and the tarsal bones. While the syndemosis is “higher” on the leg, the anterior talofibular ligament, calcaneofibular ligament and posterior talofibular ligament are located “lower” on the ankle. A high ankle sprain typically is the result of an eversion mechanism, where the foot is planted and forced outwards relative to the body, while a low ankle sprain results from an inversion of the foot, or “rolling” of the ankle.
Fortunately for Barkley and the Giants, low ankle sprains are typically faster to recovery from. From seeing how swollen the RB’s ankle was following his injury, the primary concern for the medical staff will be to reduce his swelling and restore range of motion ASAP. Physical therapists will likely use massage and other modalities to assist with that. Ankle sprains can usually affect balance and stability, attributes key to the running back position, so he will likely need to work on regaining his proprioception through PT exercises eventually as well.
The hope is that these two return to the field in the next couple of weeks. It’s no secret that the Giants need them. Wishing them both a speedy and straight forward recovery!
Learn more about EXCEL’s history of treating professional athletes here.