Disclaimer #1: I did not evaluate Jay Cutler’s knee. I am not on his medical staff, and I have never had a grade 2 MCL sprain. However, I have treated athletes with this injury, but as Kory Zimney (see comments section) pointed out, I cannot in my right mind tell everyone that this is absolutely a playable injury. The following post is designed to have some fun with the situation, and maybe stir up some controversy. It is my professional opinion that before determining if any injury is playable or not, an individual recieve a full medical examination, evaluation, and assessment.
Disclaimer #2 – I am Patriot’s fan through and through, and this post is sorta out of bitterness that my beloved Pats were not even in the ACF championship game despite beating all teams that were in each of the two games.
I am Jay Cutler’s MCL (medial collateral ligament) and I am sprained (Grade 2 says the Chicago Sun Times). I’m not even completely torn. I’m there to support Jay’s medial knee when he drops back, whether it’s a 3, 5, or 7 step drop, or hurdling himself into the endzone recklessly like he is known to do. I am always there for him and that’s why I am a little upset. I figured Jay would stand up for me and not let me take all the flack for keeping him out of the game. He did make an effort to come back after the half, but I have to wonder why they didn’t jack me up with Lidocaine and throw a medial instability brace on me and say “GO GET ‘EM!” I mean come on! A few years ago that little brat Phillip Rivers (irony in this clip) TORE his ACL and didn’t just finish the game, he played another on it!
Now that I have the next 4-5 months off, I guess me and Jay can take it easy. Typically I take about 10-12 weeks to recover, but with nothing else except rehabilitation being my job for these next few months, I can’t expect I’ll be out of commission that long. For the first month I will be coddled and soothed with massage, ice, maybe even the dumbfounded ultrasound, all the while Jay will probably be doing press conferences. I might even get to ride a bike if I’m lucky! I guess my only other option would have been to take the next two weeks to enjoy Dallas, and all the positive attention, and Jay could have looked like a stud if he could have put together a solid comeback. But I guess my simple moaning was just too much for a man who once did this. <–*ballsy*
I am Jay Cutler’s sprained MCL, and I’m a playable injury.
Mike Scott, DPT 
You also neglected to comment on Tom Bradys toughness and playing on a “suspected stress fracture” in his navicular for 8 weeksNow that’s tough!
Rizzzzzz,
Unfortunately the masses would not appreciate the idea that a small fx in a small bone in your foot can be EXCRUCIATING, therefore I omitted it. There is no surpassing Brady in my book, but like you, I think I am totally biased. Ronnie Lott having his finger cut off was pretty bad ass too. Good luck with the web site by the way… http://www.athletictrainingconsultants.com right? (good product placement right there)
Mike
Rivers DID NOT finish the game!
My apologies.. I reviewed and you are correct.. but he did play the next game with a torn ACL.
Saved as a favorite, I love your blog! 🙂
Thanks Kim!
I’m not a Cutler fan. But I am protective of anyone in pain. You say it is a playable injury, can I see some research on that or is that personal opinion. Reminder pain will change motor control and coordination, so one could say they potentially are at increase risk for further injury of many kinds. I did not evaluate his MCL, but I am sure there were qualified health professionals that did and decided it was not safe for him to play.
I realize we all get to have our opinions, but as medical professionals we should be careful to not express them without all the information and examination/evaluation data. It could be taken that you are saying that the Bears Medical staff is not qualified to decide if a player should play or not. We need to be careful as professionals not to criticize others.
Enjoy the posts, but be careful on opinions that are expressed as a professional PT.
Hey Kory,
You are absolutely correct in that I should not tell people it is an absolute playable injury. Every injury is specific to the individual, the situation, and required tasks at hand. However, if you recall he was actually allowed to come back into the game after the half, so, he in fact was probably cleared to return by the medical staff. Sure enough, playing in pain will change your motor control patterning, resulting in increased risk of injury. I will be sure to include a little disclaimer regarding my lack of an evaluation. Was just trying to have some fun with the situation and stir up some controversy.. but in no way am I saying that every grade 2 MCL sprain is playable. Thanks for keeping me in check.
Mike
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