Most of you reading this have rolled your ankle at some point in your
life. The ligament Rory McIlroy recently tore is the most commonly torn
ligament in an ankle sprain. It connects the fibula (little bone on the
outside of your leg) to the talus (a small bone in the top of your
foot). This is why it is named the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL).
See photo below:
When most people sprain their ankle it is an inversion sprain. This is when the sole of your foot rolls inward, and the top of your foot rolls outward. Rory happened to have a complete tear of the ligament we are talking about.
Let's talk golf with this injury. It is worse that Rory is right handed and he tore the ATFL in his left foot. We know Rory is a big hitter and that left ankle has to absorb a lot of stress every time he swings. Whenever he follows through and transitions his weight he is inverting the left ankle.
This
is re-creating exactly how it was injured. Factor this in with a week
of walking what isn't an easy course to walk. Considering it is unstable
and painful for him to even bear weight, he would have to modify
several things in order to be able to play golf soon.
He is taking the conservative approach and trying to take time for it to heal. This was the best chance he would have ever had to win another British Open and him not playing has a negative impact on the game of golf. Without physically seeing Rory, I can't make the call on what to do.
He is taking the conservative approach and trying to take time for it to heal. This was the best chance he would have ever had to win another British Open and him not playing has a negative impact on the game of golf. Without physically seeing Rory, I can't make the call on what to do.
I
can tell you that with this type of injury we like to get our hands on
it immediately and start working through the acute phase. It is very
painful but effective. I would be shooting for him to play in The Open,
but again every case is different and I'm not his treating doctor. The
reason I would shoot for him to play is because I know how athletes are
and I know how important this one is to his legacy.
There are a few things he could do with his golf swing to be able to play next week.
Don't try to bomb it every time. This would help in putting as little stress as possible on the ankle.
There are a few things he could do with his golf swing to be able to play next week.
Don't try to bomb it every time. This would help in putting as little stress as possible on the ankle.
Turn the left foot out a little more. Bio-mechanically this would help to minimize the amount of inversion of the left ankle required through impact and follow through.
Take extra time to ensure stability of the feet and lower body before taking the club back.
Don't hold his finish. He would need to get out of the unstable position of inversion as quickly as possible. This would also get his body weight off of the ankle as quickly as possible.
These sound like big changes but remember we are talking about the No. 1 player in the world. If anyone can fight through a few changes, it's him.
Let's say Rory had been able to get the swelling and pain down enough to play. He would have been forced to have a significant amount of functional tape on the ankle and some serious bracing. It would probably balloon up each night and require continuous work.
This should make us all realize how special Tiger Woods' performance in 2008 was.
(photo credit: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/sports/golf/19golf.html?_r=0)
Dr. Brian Mann, ART, BS, FDM, Nike NG360
Dr. Brian Mann, ART, BS, FDM, Nike NG360