San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey traveled to Germany to see a specialist about his Achilles tendinitis, that was confirmed by head coach Kyle Shanahan after it was determined that he will miss some time looking to avoid more.
McCaffrey traveled in hopes of finding a solution to the problem that has plagued him since the start of the preseason that has forced him to be placed on injured reserve to start the season. Now there might be some clarity on the real solution he is looking for.
Dr. Kenton Fibel recently provided an explanation on the matter. “A non-surgical field in which stem-cell and platelet-rich plasma injections are used to accelerate healing for a host of injuries that include Achilles tendinitis,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle, referring to hat the running back is hoping to get.
The situation might be somewhat complex, but the doctor has detailed how there is a way he can actually heal faster.
“Usually whenever you’re having some sort of a biologic procedure for a tendon, particularly an Achilles tendon, typically that’s going to require you to have enough time to rest and protect the tendon after the procedure,” he said to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“And then start to progress things forward while the tissue has a chance to biologically start to heal and restructure […] With some of these more important weight-bearing tendons, it’s pretty safe to say that they’re not returning within the first four weeks of the procedure,” Doctor Kenton Fibel explained.
If history helps, Christian McCaffrey is not the first athlete to travel to Germany for more insight on this. Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning, Alex Rodriguez are some of the names that have done it, even Kirk Cousins who suffered a similar situation, traveled to Antigua for a stem cell treatment on his torn Achilles back in January, so there is nothing strange about this, especially to try and get back to the field soon.
