Andrew Luck is one of my favorite football players. Actually he may be one of my favorite professional athletes. I’m taking the time to investigate and write about his injury.
Andrew Luck missed the entire 2017 NFL Football Season and was placed on injured reserve for his shoulder on November 2nd, 2017 effectively ending his season. With that being said I’m going to take the time to breakdown his injury from anatomy review to rehabilitation and how as a healthcare professional I can integrate myself into the case (if I was working a case as substantial as his).
So let’s review on how we got here.
Following the 2015 season, he spent all off-season doing physical therapy and sports rehabilitation on his injured right throwing shoulder to prepare himself for 2016. It worked, to a certain extent, because he played all of 2016. But in January of 2017, he did have surgery to repair a torn posterior labrum in his right shoulder. Following surgery he missed organized team activities, mandatory minicamp, training camp, and all four preseason games.
He started practicing with the team in October of 2017. That was his first practice with the team. He had been practicing off on his own with coaches and trainers but the first time he would be able to with the team. He was on a pitch count and didn’t practice on back-to-back days and still had rehabilitation days. Everything down to the type of routes he throws each day and the distance he throws each day is carefully monitored.
He had reported his shoulder being fatigued and in pain following throwing sessions thus prompting to be sidelined again just two weeks after returning to the practice field. A cortisone shot didn’t help and he was shut down and saw other medical specialists to get more opinions as to what could be causing the lingering symptoms.
Thus prompting his trips to Europe. ESPN reported that he was in Europe undergoing further tests and unspecified treatment addressing pain and also to determine if he needed to undergo another surgery.
That second surgery would be on the biceps tendon, not the labrum. A Biceps Tenodesis would have been performed to take pressure of the labrum. But it hasn’t be stated that he did have the second surgery. So that’s good news!
For those bringing up Marcus Mariota in Tennessee and the uncertainty with Andrew Luck’s shoulder when talking about McDaniels, I continue to be told Luck’s recovery has been going exceptionally well since returning from Europe
— Mike Wells (@MikeWellsNFL) January 15, 2018
He wasn’t the only franchise player to go down this season, but he certainly is one of the biggest names. To understand the severity of the injury lets go all the back to 2015. Specifically, week 3 of the 2015 NFL Season.
The Indianapolis Colts were visiting the Tennessee Titans. That’s when the initial shoulder injury occurred. The initial injury most likely occurred when he took a hit and got tackled to the ground. He could have landed on his shoulder, or landed with his shoulder slightly extended out causing the damage. He did miss the next two games due a shoulder injury.
It was revealed to the public back in January of 2017 that he tore his labrum in his right shoulder. His right shoulder is his throwing shoulder.
He tore his posterior labrum, which is more complicated than tearing the anterior portion of the labrum. Tomorrow we will discuss the anatomy of the shoulder, in two parts since it can get a little dense and because I can’t truly condense my thoughts. Stay tuned.