Chris Cooley had been noticing a limp every time he decelerated and it was costing him time on the field. Competing in the NFL is hard enough. Trying to do so while injured is darn near impossible. With his injury seemingly finally behind him, Cooley is beginning to once again, feel like himself. Today, his burst if back and he can both see and feel the difference. So can his coaches.
Cooley wants to see the playing field more. He always wanted to but now he feels physically ready to. Cooley first hurt his knee in 2005, tearing the meniscus. In January of this year, he was forced to undergo arthroscopic surgery. He would later re-aggravate the injury in training camp. Even with these set-backs he had plans return to the field by week one of the season. He didn’t have many believers outside of himself. Unable to practice, Cooley saw four doctors and tried seemingly every treatment they threw at him. Lubrication, electric stimulus, cortisone, he tried them all.
The only form of care that ended up being effective was plasma-rich plasma injection therapy, which is a treatment proven to speed up the tissue regeneration process in some individuals. “I’d say I felt 50 percent better after each time that I did it,” Cooley said of the treatments.
Even with the effectiveness of the treatments and the subsequent progress he was making, he only managed to fit in one practice before his team’s (Washington Redskins) game against the New York Giants. In his heart, Cooley was more than ready to play. Whether or not his knee would hold up was an entirely different matter. Not getting on the field would not be an emotional blow to Cooley but it was shaping up to potentially be a professional one as well. The NFL is competitive league. One person’s injury or loss is potentially another player’s gain.
Cooley’s one-time backup, Fred Davis, has become the team’s top receiver and is now the second most productive tight end in the NFL. Rather than begrudge his friend and teammate, Cooley tries to remain positive and offer advice when needed. Still, the inability to function at the level the pro-bowler was accustomed was tough. It, however, finally looks like Cooley is on the road to recovery and according to him, he has plasma-rich plasma injection therapy to thank for it.
