LUDLOW, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - A common sports injury is taking center stage in the NBA Playoffs. Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in game four against the New York Knicks and Celtics fans are wondering what his recovery will entail.
The crowd was silent Monday night as the fourth quarter coming to a shocking halt. Tatum was having one of the best playoff games of his career when he crumpled to the ground in pain. Fans later found out that he ruptured his Achilles tendon.
We sat down with Sam Clarke, a physical therapist at ATI Physical Therapy in Ludlow and a Celtics fan himself, to get answers. “As a fan, it’s terrible because the Celtics needed to get some wins going, which I hope they still can and, as a \[physical therapist\], it’s one of those things you just keep watching it, analyzing it here and there,” he said.
Clarke has been a physical therapist for seven years and, while he only sees a few patients with ruptured Achilles each year, other Achilles injuries, such as tendonitis and strains, roll through his office more frequently. “Different ones lead to different amounts of pain and loss of function,” he added.
However, for athletes like Tatum, who need that function back sooner rather than later, surgery is typically the first step. “It depends on the patient, it depends on their lifestyle. Surgery usually is the outcome for people who expect a high level of performance, such as Jayson Tatum or any pro-athlete,” Clarke explained.
While Tatum did have that repair surgery on Wednesday, reports indicate it will still be a long road of recovery. “It’s long. You start with periods of non-weight bearing and then your weight bearing status progresses, then it goes into learning how to walk again,” Clarke noted.
Clarke said, while some injuries are bound to happen, there are still preventative measures that athletes can take to avoid such scenarios. “It can just be stretching, it’s how they go into warmups. It can be making sure that everything, not only at the foot and ankle, is strong,” he added.
In the meantime, Tatum will have to ride it out on the bench until his doctors deem it safe for him to play again.
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