Would just like some incite, can Daunte Culpepper actually come back from this injury? I know Willis McGahee and Carson Palmer both came back from these types of injuries but i just don't see culpepper's knee ever getting back to strength.
I'm no expert, but I'll give it a shot. I've had five knee surgeries, including two ACL reconstructions (one on each knee). Both times I had a section of my patellar tendon harvested and then used to create a new ACL ligament. The other three surgeries were relatively minor scopes. To this day, 17 or 18 years since the first operation, I can still scratch my knee in some places and either feel a weird, somewhat numb sensation and actually something on the opposite side of the knee. I've had both external and internal nerve damage to both knees.
Which brings me to Culpepper. Everyone seems to focus on his leg strength and pain. Strength is obviously important, as measured by the Cybex tests etc., and pain is a demoralizing killer. But my guess is that his limping and utter lack of quickness and mobility, although in part caused by pain, is also a result of nerve damage. There is some nerve damage caused by the surgical cutting, but the most important nerve damage is caused by the injury itself, with bundles of nerves inside the ligamnets themselves severed as three of his ligaments were shredded. These nerves that were damaged
sent impulses to the brain that allowed for normal movement, balance, and communication betwee the brain and the body parts in question. They're vital for running, balance, quickness- optimum functioning that people take for granted until such an injury. These nerves simply have to heal- that's why knee strength and Cybex tests simply don't paint the whole picture. When you hear that Culpepper's knee tested out at 95% strength, that doesn't
necessarily mean that he's good to go. Two examples of what nerve damage can do to a knee are the injuries suffered by Robert Edwards and Dwight Stephenson.
The process by which body parts communicate and coordinate with the brain (using these nerves in question) is called proprioception. I had never heard the term until a guy on this site (Bonedoc?) mentioned it. I've experienced the nerve healing process and regaining of proprioception myself. When I
was at the Bills game last year waching Culpepper flop around that's what I thought about: you can play through pain, but you can't really overcome nerve damage just through force of will. But over time (give it a full 2 years)
it usually gets a lot better. The nerves heal, regenerate, and you start feeling normal again.
So what's critical for Culpepper are the obvious regaining of leg strength and range of motion (both probably accomplished by now) and a complete or near complete return of proprioception relative to his brain and knee. Some guys like Carson Palmer and Willis McGahee come back quickly, other guys like Dwight Stephenson never make it back. It's tought to predict who is going to bounce back quickly from these kind of injuries and who isn't. But after a second offseason Culpepper should, at least from a physical standpoint, be ready to go.
Here are a few links:
From Emory University:
"The body's movement in space is monitored by nerves, located in ligaments, and tendons and muscles, which send signals to the brain to coordinate activity and protect against injury. These damaged nerves must be retrained in Proprioception exercises so the muscles will move the joint properly again."
http://www.emoryhealthcare.org/departments/sports/sub_menu/ACL.html
Also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro02/web2/slee.html
