Aaron Rodgers Has a Strained Calf, and Everyone Has Advice

New York Times—January 16, 2015

The fans mean well, Aaron Rodgers said. On his Tuesday radio show and again at a Wednesday news conference at Lambeau Field, Rodgers thanked those who called, emailed and texted various suggestions for speeding the healing of his strained left calf.

Rodgers is using one alternative method: acupuncture. On his radio show, he said his girlfriend, the actress Olivia Munn, steered him to acupuncture this season to treat a sore hamstring. Though declining to go into specifics Wednesday, Rodgers has acknowledged that acupuncture augments his daily treatment from the Packers' training staff, which includes deep-tissue massage.

Scott Rodeo, MD,  a sports medicine surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, and the associate team physician for the Giants, does not discount acupuncture as a possible source of relief. But he still recommends proven treatment methods: rest, ultrasound, muscle stimulation and inflammatory medication. Injections of platelet-rich plasma also may speed recovery, he said.

"Acupuncture is not completely understood by people in the orthopedic community," said Rodeo, who has not examined or treated Rodgers. "But I've known people, and had my own patients, use it effectively."

Depending on severity, Rodeo said a strained calf can heal in three to four days, or take as long as four weeks. "You've got to plant your left foot when you step into the throw, and I'm sure he feels it," Rodeo said.

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