Cam Akers says Achilles recovery wasn't a magic trick. He could have returned sooner
Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers has set a new standard for athletes recovering from torn Achilles’ tendons.
Typically, athletes need roughly 9-12 months to recover from a ruptured Achilles tendon, which attaches the heel to the calf muscle. Some have returned just shy of nine months. Some have taken even longer or haven’t returned at all.
But Akers? He thought his season was over July 20. By Christmas, he was activated on the Los Angeles Rams' roster. He appeared in a limited role during the season finale Jan. 9.
Roughly five and a half months — 192 days to be exact — after he first ruptured his right Achilles during training camp, Akers was back in earnest for the postseason.
“Whoever goes through what I went through, I pray they come back faster than me. I pray somebody does something that hasn’t been done again,” Akers said as the Rams prepare to face the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 56 Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
“With me, it wasn’t like a magic trick. I would say this: If you have the right mentality, it’s not far-fetched for anybody.”
NFL MIDWEEK TAILGATE: Super Bowl 2022 edition
Achilles’ tendon tears are quite common. Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson in the NBA, as well as Breanna Stewart and Kelsey Plum in the WNBA are among recent athletes to injure their Achilles' tendon.
Late NFL receiver Demaryius Thomas twice suffered a torn right Achilles, seven seasons apart. Former NFL defensive end Terrell Suggs returned in five months from a partially torn Achilles.
Akers’ recovery from his ruptured tendon is truly an ode to his determination, along with advancements in surgery and the rehabilitation process.
“No one that I know of has come back at this kind of performance in just over five months. It’s amazing,” orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed Akers’ surgery, told USA Today Sports+. “I can tell you I haven’t seen anybody injured right before the regular season, right before that preseason camp, and come back the same year.”
The crazy part of Akers’ recovery? ElAttrache says Akers could have possibly returned even sooner.
The doctor used an improved method during the surgery he first attempted when he fixed the late Kobe Bryant’s Achilles in 2013.
ElAttrache used the InternalBrace technique where braided sutures are inserted above the area of the tear into the calf muscle, bypassing the tear, and into the healthy part of the tendon again well below the tear and often into the heel bone itself.
The improved method also helps decrease the time a patient is immobile, so they can quickly begin moving their ankle and activating the calf muscle sooner.
“It braces and protects load shares in the area of the tear so it doesn’t get injured as you’re accelerating people through the rehab,” said ElAttrache, who also serves as the lead physician for the Rams and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Still, Akers had to deal with the mundane nature of injury recovery. The Achilles' tendon must graph itself back together once attached by the sutures. And the thought of missing his second NFL season weighed on him as his recovery process started during the preseason.
“Mentally, it wasn’t an easy process," Akers said. "You can’t walk. You can’t do all the things you’re used to doing. You can’t move around. You can’t sleep how you want to. I think at first, it was kind of challenging to get a grasp with and deal with. But at the end of the day, reality for that moment, for that time period, I understood it just was what it was.
"I was working to get out of the situation I was in.”
REPORTERS' ROUNDTABLE: Joe Burrow or Aaron Donald more of a factor in Super Bowl LVI?
ElAttrache is quick to note he is just a part of Akers’ recovery, crediting Rams Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance Reggie Scott, Director of Rehabilitation Byron Cunningham and Director of Sports Science Tyler Williams for their efforts.
Following the surgery, the rehabilitation staff used blood-flow resistance therapy, which purposely decreases blood flow in the area to get an exaggerated response by the muscle. ElAttrache said it was a “game changer” in helping Akers accelerate the return of the size, tone, strength and endurance of his calf muscle.
Akers also used GPS tracking to acquire tangible data during some rehabilitation workouts, which was particularly instrumental because of the pace of his recovery.
“He was the perfect guy to do this on. He was the perfect guy to go through this,” ElAttrache said. “He was totally engaged in his recovery. He wanted to know everything. He was very trusting of everybody that was working with him.”
Along with the data, Akers was open in reporting to doctors and trainers how he felt during and after workouts as they approached uncharted territory with how rapid the process was developing.
When ElAttrache first performed the surgical method on Bryant, who played two more seasons following the injury, they could only depend on oral communication to gauge the recovery process without GPS data.
“With Kobe being the first one I was playing around with that on," ElAttrache said.
"I wasn’t going to just guess with a guy like him or with anybody. But as we evolved from Kobe, we saw what we could do. There were a couple athletes I know we could’ve gone a little bit faster with but this situation was ideal. I don’t think Cam could’ve sneezed without somebody knowing what was going on with him.
"It was just so tight, the follow-up and the day-to-day. Everything was just so tight we could move forward without much doubt.”
Once Akers’ speed reached around 20 miles per hour during a workout, they knew he turned a corner.
The trainers even noticed he was able to generate higher force from his rehabilitated foot. The timing of his push-off on the foot wasn’t delayed. And there were no other apparent setbacks.
“When we saw that, we knew we could keep going to the pace we were at,” ElAttrache said. “And he was probably ready — according to his numbers and how he felt — probably a couple weeks before he actually played.”
RELATED: Top pop culture moments from 1993, last time Super Bowl was held in Los Angeles
Akers made his season debut in the regular-season finale against the San Francisco 49ers. He was limited in action with just eight total touches for 13 yards, including a six-yard catch.
But ElAttrache knew Akers was ready to come back when Scott called to tell him Akers was upset he was unable to play the week before against the Baltimore Ravens.
“‘Guess who’s pissed he’s not in the starting lineup tonight,’” ElAttrache recalled Scott telling him on the phone before kickoff. “I said, ‘That’s music to my ears.’ When you hear that, that’s when you know that athlete is really ready to go.”
Akers says he could have taken a traditional or relaxed approach in his recovery. But he knew the type of team the Rams had, primed to win a championship.
It was a major driving force in his recovery.
“I could’ve taken my time and came back," Akers said. "I had nothing but time. But the pressure was because I knew the team here. I knew the work everybody put in. I knew the coaches we have. I know the staff we have. And I know the opportunity that was at hand. So, who wouldn’t want to come back if it’s safe?
"Who wouldn’t want to come back and contribute and help their team compete for a Super bowl or make a Super Bowl run?”
Now, Akers could finish his second NFL season with a Super Bowl ring as a major contributor for the Rams.
“A lot of people would say I’m not supposed to be sitting here,” Akers said. “So just for me to be able to sit here, and actually going to play in the Super Bowl, knowing I have the opportunity to make plays, and knowing everything I ever wanted is right there in front of me.
"All I have to do is prepare. It’s like a dream come true.”