Philadelphia Eagles Defensive end Brandon Graham had a high ankle sprain Christmas night in a game against the Oakland Raiders. A high ankle sprain is a tearing of some of the fibers between the two lower leg bones below the knee (the tibia and the fibula). A regular ankle sprain is a tearing of some of the ligaments between the leg bones and the foot bones. Brandon returned for the post-season games and helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl.
He had surgery on May 1 due to “slow healing” and hopes to be back in training camp on July 1st. Since ligaments and bones don’t typically heal in two months, this may be a procedure that uses heavy suture between the two bones (the tibia and the fibula) to reinforce the ligaments and help bear the load. The idea is that will make it more comfortable to get back to high-level sports sooner. Surgery hurts, there are risks, and subjective factors such as confidence and vulnerability are also important. This type of surgery should be considered experimental. We need more data to be sure this type of surgery has a good balance of risks and benefits. Data comparing surgery to simulated surgery would be necessary to control for the powerful forces of adaptation and resilience. Professional athletes seem on occasion to opt for different treatments than most of us, perhaps due to the pressure of returning to play again as soon as possible.

This article was created by Alexa Ryder and David Ring.