Football, they say, has a 100% injury rate. There is an ever-revolving crop of healthy and injured players, players on injured reserve, players on the mend, players who are "healthy" but are in constant pain, players in the ice tub, in the hot tub, in the steam room, players getting stretched out, getting acupuncture, getting soft tissue work on a tight hamstring and players who wince with every step. And when you see them on that field, moving the way they are, you'd have no idea what they went through during the week to make that possible.
Monday after the game is hard. Very hard. The adrenaline of the game often doesn't fully wear off until you have fallen asleep Sunday night, so the true toll your body has taken in the game isn't evident until your feet hit the floor Monday morning. Each step reveals a new injury to treat, or an old injury that has thankfully begun to heal. Once you're upright, you make your way to the facility to let the team know about everything you're experiencing. When the list is long enough, the best answer is to submerge yourself in the cold tub. It takes a meditative approach to discomfort and breath work to voluntarily put yourself into ice water. The first minute in the cold tub is torture. Then you get numb and before you know it, the timer is going off and you can get out. Fifteen minutes is enough time in the cold tub — maybe twenty. Some guys swear by the cold tub and make it a part of their every day routine. There is an undeniable feeling of rejuvenation after exiting the cold tub that eases the pain and seems to speed up the healing process, but it is not for the faint of heart.
Tuesday is everyone's day off, but if you are really hurt, you'll be going in to the facility on Tuesday, too. This is where your professionalism comes in: you have to gauge your needs and what it's going to take to get you ready for Sunday. If you could use some rehab, some actual hands on your body, some modalities and a light work out, maybe some ice and electrical stimulation, then you go in and get that work. If what you really need is to stay home, by yourself, and rest, not only your body, but your mind, then stay home and get your mind right, because the next day, Wednesday, the work week officially begins and you need to be ready to practice at full speed. If you can't, and you haven't come in for treatment, that reflects poorly on you.
Each player has his own process, and each coach has their own process, too — their own routine, that deals with a precarious balance; taking care of the players bodies while simultaneously getting them ready to play a fast, violent game. It is an art, this preparation, and coaches like Sean Payton have years at the work bench perfecting their craft. There is reason why the Broncos, under Payton, and the Saints, under Payton, were among the least injured teams in the league. You can not be a physical team on Sunday without being a physical team during the week, and you can't be a physical team during the week without, in some sense, risking injury. Players know this. Coaches know this.
And that's why the organization employs a myriad of trainers, doctors and specialists to make sure the players have every resource at their fingertips so that they may be prepared, each week, to put their foot back down on the gas.
About the Author: Former NFL wide receiver and tight end Nate Jackson played six seasons for the Broncos and is the author of the New York Times Best Selling book "Slow Getting Up."
