I Intentionally Injured a Professional Athlete...

I intentionally injured a pro athlete...

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Earlier this year, we tested a professional athlete using the Humac Norm isokinetic machine—comprehensively profiling knee strength, power, and torque at multiple speeds.

We wanted a full picture of right vs. left knee function. While reviewing the data, we noticed something interesting: A dip in force output between 60–90° of knee extension at 60°/sec in one knee—suggesting the athlete might be unconsciously protecting their patellar tendon from higher load.

Here’s the kicker: No pain. No symptoms. No red flags during training or competition. Just a hidden inefficiency—something "below the waterline" the athlete couldn't feel.

So… what do we do with that?

We had two options:

  1. Leave it alone and carry on
  2. Address it—and knowingly provoke the tendon

We chose option 2.

Why?

The athlete and clinician had a high level of trust

The offseason window gave us time to address, irritate, adapt, and resolve the issue before competition

Here's what we did:

We designed a patellar tendon loading protocol using the 1080 Sprint in isokinetic mode—to dial in stimulus at the right intensity. Even for a pro athlete, the work was shockingly hard: high effort, high intention.

Within a week, the tendon got irritated (just as expected). But instead of backing off completely, we leaned in strategically:

Monitored symptoms closely

Subbed in isometrics and other load types

Collaborated tightly with the performance coach

Kept the athlete on a thoughtful load/recover/adapt plan

By week 5, pain was down. Function was up.

We saw improvements in:

  1. Isokinetic testing
  2. Force plate output
  3. Functional measures like sprint speed and acceleration

Takeaways:

  1. Pain isn’t always bad – With intention and planning, sometimes we need to push into discomfort to drive adaptation.
  2. The human body is wildly adaptable
  3. “Below-the-waterline” metrics—the ones athletes can’t feel—are often the most valuable when designing performance and rehab interventions
Ryan BaugusComment