Chao: Gronkowski Hits Milestone Week

Dr. David Chao is the former team doctor for the San Diego Chargers and has taken to the internet as an injury expert. He emerged this season by evaluating players injuries over the course of the season and is very respected, so when he posted about Rob Gronkowski's recovery, I thought it'd be worth passing it on.

This marks the 6th week of Rob Gronkowski's recovery after his ACL surgery, and according to Chao it's one of the most pivotal moments in the recovery. The importance is two-fold, impacting both his heal and his rehabilitation.

Chao says that six weeks is typically the required time for the surgery to be healed "adequately" enough for the player to increase their activity. So if everything went well, Gronk's knee should be considered "healed enough", which unsarcastically sounds like a pretty big deal for the franchise.

Six weeks also marks the first time patients should be running on their knee, according to Chao, so hopefully Gronk has been healing according to schedule. By "run", Chao means that the player can start being active on the leg, so Gronk will more likely be walking and jogging, instead of sprinting. It also seems as if this is the period in recovery to work on building the strength in the leg, as players can start working on squats and leg presses.

So thanks to Chao for the interesting breakdown, and let's hope Gronk is recovering as expected.