Former Colts Dr. Talks Peyton Manning Injury, Possible Prognosis

I got hold of Dr. Patrick Kersey of St. Vincent Sports Performance in Indianapolis to get thoughts from a relevant professional on what’s currently going on with Peyton Manning. After throwing four interceptions in the same game in which he broke Brett Favre’s all-time passing record, Manning got benched in last week’s contest against the Chiefs for Brock Osweiler.

Now his list of injuries includes a shoulder (non-disclosed exact location or severity), torn plantar fascia (foot), rib cage and possibly continued nerve problems from neck surgery (speculation).

A recent article I read depicted Manning as a walking mummy following a game earlier this season. Now that he’s out indefinitely, some question if he’ll ever play another snap.

So what would Kersey know? Well, he was the Indianapolis Colts’ team physician for ten years and therefore knows Manning very well.

Without violating good ol’ HIPAA and alienating any relationships, I asked Dr. Kersey the relevant questions. Here’s what he had to say.

Initial thoughts from the eyeball test

Josh: Simply watching Peyton Manning play last week, what was going through your mind?

Dr. Kersey: Not being able to physically perform at his optimal level that we’re accustomed to — there’s pieces of that that raises questions in everyone’s mind as to why. Truthfully, we’re probably not privileged to the information we want to know … NFL teams, and kinda the way the league is typically, is to not actually divulge the reality of what’s going on. Obviously, you see that, the Peyton we’ve come to know and love was not the same guy on Sunday. Obviously he’s dealing with some injuries that are preventing him from delivering the ball as we’re accustomed … Obviously a partially torn fascia and rib-related injuries would make sense as to why he’s probably lost some zip on his ball for sure.

What’s the worst of Manning’s injuries?

Josh: What’s the most concerning injury from your standpoint as a professional?

Dr. Kersey: It’s not fair to speculate … We don’t know what his injuries are. They haven’t been truly divulged … From a speculation standpoint, I don’t know he has a “shoulder injury.” I do know he’s had four neck surgeries and some nerve components with that.

Josh: Based on what you know about his neck surgery and your experience. Can you describe how hard it is to come back from that surgery? Obviously he has made a comeback, but father time catches up with everyone. And everyone’s wondering how much Manning has left in the tank after all of these ailments.

Dr. Kersey: We don’t know that answer. ‘Father time’ is undefeated. A dwindling superstar has had poor performances for reasons we may not know.

Josh: How difficult is it for a player to typically come back from multiple surgeries like Manning has gone through?

Dr. Kersey: Those are massive challenges for anyone at that caliber of play … It’s impossible for us to speculate how much an aging athlete has left in the tank.

How hard is it for Manning to hang it up?

Josh: Based on all the years you worked with Manning, what can you tell us about him regarding the type of fighter he is? It seems like he will do anything to win another championship.

Dr. Kersey: And I think that’s true with all professionals, but for someone in the category of Peyton Manning it’s probably one of the most penultimate struggles that they will entertain. I’ve never come across anyone more competitive than Peyton Manning.

Josh: What can you tell us about Peyton Manning that describes all he’s endured through?

Dr. Kersey: I think one thing I would say is there’s not a person who’s dealt with career success to the level he has, as well as some professional or team related short comings, with the type of grace and class as Peyton Manning. Also as far as preparatory or interest in their craft, you’ll never come across another … everything matters to him. From the color of ink in the pen you write with to the intricacies of what defenses are.

Manning spent his first 14 seasons (of 18) with the Colts, amassing super-human numbers and winning one Super Bowl. Photo: Getty

Can Manning even throw?

Josh: How hard is it to throw a football with great velocity with a partially torn plantar fascia?

Dr. Kersey: I think it could be infinitely hard. When you’re using that lower extremity to push off and to generate power, you don’t have the ability to do that. It can certainly compromise the velocity the ball comes out with.

Does cold weather matter?

Josh: Will the colder weather play a factor in trying to play with all these injuries?

Dr. Kersey: There’s really nothing determined medically to suggest the weather would make that vast amount of difference. But I think there’s challenges dealing with weather, whether it’s cold, rain or wind … It may take a little longer to get warmed up, those kind of things.

Are the Broncos realistic (if expecting Manning to return)?

Josh: The Broncos claimed [earlier this week] they’ll rest him a week or two, see what happens. How realistic is that timetable? What would you recommend if you were his doctor?

Dr. Kersey: Again, I think it’s a tough thing to speculate. The percentage amount of tendon involvement is probably a big factor. Talking about return? Anything — 10 percent involvement to 90 percent involvement — would mean varying degrees of recovery and we don’t know how much involvement there is there. So you would say coming back to perform from a plantar fascial injury, that we’re completely speculating on, could be anywhere from 2-6 weeks, depending on ability to function: push off, run, sprint, change direction … Unfortunately, there aren’t many capacities with which you can utilize something to help increase that amount of healing other than general treatments that go on with any muscle or tendon related injury. Hopefully he’s on the lower scale for involvement and quicker scale for recovery.

So what did we learn?