Bilateral Achilles Tendon Ruptures in the NFL

Abstract

Background: Achilles tendon ruptures (ATR) can have devastating results for athletes in the National Football League (NFL). While many studies have examined the effects of an ipsilateral ATR, there are no reports on the impact of bilateral ATRs on NFL athlete performance. Methods: Publicly available online injury data for NFL athletes who sustained bilateral ATRs between the start of the 2007 season and the start of the 2021 season were queried using online news and sports analysis web sources. Results: After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 5 NFL athletes were identified. The findings demonstrated a significant difference in age at the time of each rupture (27.8 vs 30.4 years, P < .01) along with a decreasing trend in the number of Pro Bowl nominations following successive ATRs ( P = .027). There were no differences reported for the duration and number of games missed during either rehabilitation period following an ATR. Upon analyzing defensive NFL athletes, forced fumbles was the only performance metric that significantly changed across successive ATRs. Conclusion: Overall, bilateral ATRs can adversely impact an NFL player’s performance and further research should be performed to continue analyzing the effects of bilateral ATRs on these athletes. Level of Evidence: 4