Return to Play Following High-Grade Turf Toe Injuries in National Football League Athletes

Abstract

Category: Sports; Midfoot/Forefoot; Trauma Introduction/Purpose: Return-to-play (RTP) rates of National Football League (NFL) athletes following surgical intervention for numerous foot and ankle injuries has been reported. To our knowledge, no studies have reported on RTP rates of NFL athletes after non-operative and operative treatment of high-grade turf toe injuries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the RTP rates in NFL athletes who sustained high-grade turf to injuries. We hypothesized that NFL athletes requiring operative intervention for high-grade turf toe injuries would have lower RTP rates and longer recoveries than athletes treated non- operatively. Additionally, we hypothesized that regardless of treatment, NFL athletes would demonstrate equal productivity following RTP. Methods: Publicly available NFL injury data was reviewed to identify athletes who sustained high-grade turf toe injuries, as indicated by surgical intervention or missed playing time of 2 weeks or more. Athletes were excluded if RTP was prevented for reasons unrelated to the injury. Demographic and performance data was obtained including a player’s injury, date of injury, date of surgery, RTP, time to RTP, number and percentage of games played, and performance. Results: 53 NFL athletes were identified with high-grade turf toe injuries that met inclusion criteria. 28 of these athletes were treated non-operatively and 25 were treated with surgery. The overall RTP rate was 91%. Athletes who were treated non- operatively had a RTP rate of 100% while athletes who underwent surgery had a RTP rate of 80% (P = 0.011). The mean time to RTP for all athletes was 140.9+-111.9 days. The mean time to RTP for non-operatively treated patients was 75.8+-99.0 days, compared with 221.4+-81.6 days for operatively treated athletes (P = 0.002). In skill position athletes who achieved RTP, 78% treated non-operatively were able to return to their prior level of performance compared to only 27% for athletes treated surgically (P = 0.032). Conclusion: There is a significant difference in return to play following surgical versus non-operative management of high-grade turf toe injuries, with only 80% of athletes achieving return to play after surgery. No athletes were able to return the same season as surgery and the mean time to RTP following initiation of treatment was significantly shorter for players who underwent non- operative management. Postoperative performance was also significantly worse in players who underwent surgical intervention compared to non-operative management. This study provides important prognostic information to high level athletes in regards to recovery following high-grade turf toe injuries