Conference Championship: Tyler Higbee

At a Glance –
Player: Tyler Higbee
Position: Tight End
Team: Los Angeles Rams
Injury: Knee Injury (Unspecified)
Projected Recovery Time: 2-8 weeks

The LA Rams are going to the Super Bowl! The NFC champions punched their ticket to the game on February 13th after narrowly defeating the San Francisco 49ers, and now the Rams have the opportunity to win the Lombardi, at home, in Los Angeles! The Rams did, however, lose a key player to an injury during the first half of Sunday’s game.

Tyler Higbee, the Rams’ tight end, missed most of the conference championship due to a knee injury. Most feared the worst, that Higbee sustained a ligament injury, but recent reports state that the injury was not too severe and that Higbee may be able to play in the Super Bowl. The chances are slim but not nonexistent.

Higbee’s knee injury is unspecified, but since there is a chance he can be back in 2 weeks, he is without a doubt working with his physical therapist. With acute knee injuries, the focus of a rehab plan is often on decreasing inflammation, modulating pain, and restoring range-of-motion, strength and balance. After an injury, inflammation (in the joint, known as effusion, or around the joint, known as swelling) are common, and effort will be taken to reduce this inflammation, as it can increase pain levels, decrease range-of-motion, and reduce muscle firing and efficiency. Elevation and compression sleeves will be key in the next few days, as well as targeted stretching and strengthening to address any impairments.

Trauma to the knee can cause voluntary firing of the quadriceps to be reduced, and electrical stimulation will be used to help regain neuromuscular control of that muscle. It can take a few days for inflammation to go away, and even longer to regain strength, range of motion, and balance, so Higbee will be evaluated on a day-by-day basis to determine if he will be ready to return for the last game of the season. Even though it is the Super Bowl, Higbee doesn’t want to return if he isn’t ready as premature return to play can lead to increased risk of injury when the person isn’t ready. That being said, Higbee has one job the next two weeks: rehabbing to be cleared for one of the biggest games of his life. We’ll see how he does!

Watch this video to see the team demonstrate a few of the exercises Higbee may be doing for his knee injury

Source:
https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2022/01/31/rams-injuries-tyler-higbee-taylor-rapp-sean-mcvay/