John Means Suffers Achilles Rupture

I remember when Johnny Unitas’s career was ended following the 1973 season, I believe that it was in 1974. He was playing racketball when he blew the tendon out, age of forty. It was decades before I read about an athlete suffering from that injury. I’m not saying that it didn’t happen, it could have gotten by me, but suffice to say that it wasn’t a common injury. Proper stretching does in fact, over time mitigate the risk of blowing out tendons. And you are actually making my point regarding achilles tendon ruptures being “odd”. The achilles tendon is the strongest tendon in the body. They shouldn’t just blowout while, as you put it, from a ” rather casual movement”. But if you look into the side effects of say, prednisone you will find “tendon ruptures” listed. Responsible doctors don’t like to use prednisone or other corticosteroids more than two to four times a year for tendonitis. But man, when you are in pain it’s a miracle drug! Team doctors are pressured to push the limits of these drugs. And then you have the anabolic steroids which builds muscular strength faster than tendons and ligaments can strengthen (this happens without steroids, the blood supply to tendons and ligaments is far less than to muscles). So to cut to the chase I think that it’s likely that many of these achilles tendon ruptures are the result of steroid use. There is simply too.much money involved to allow your competitors to cut your lively hood out from under you. The owners in all sports are now only interested in appearances. Using the right steroids, in moderation allows for tremendous strength gains without getting into Bonds’ cartoon proportions. Fans and owners don’t care if things “appear” to be equitable.