SPORTS

U of L's Parker gets high-tech help for foot

Jeff Greer
@jeffgreer_cj
DeVante Parker, feeling at home behind the mic, said, “We didn’t try to put up numbers (under former coach Charlie Strong). ... At times it did get frustrating.”

DeVante Parker's recovery has gone according to schedule, and he's getting some technological help with the process, too.

A fractured fifth metatarsal in the star University of Louisville receiver's left foot forced him into surgery a week before Louisville's Sept. 1 season opener against Miami.

Parker's now some three weeks into a rehabilitation process that could last anywhere from three to five more weeks.

Judging by Parker's posts on Twitter – he wrote "getting better every day!" on Sunday night – things are going well for the 6-foot-3, 208-pound senior.

"Everything there has been very positive so far," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said Monday.

"He's been able to get on the AlterG, reduce his weight, walk and do some exercise."

Who or what is AlterG? It's not new technology.

The California-based company in the late 2000s built an anti-gravity treadmill to help speed up the recovery process for individuals rehabbing leg injuries.

The runner steps into the machine and runs without all of their body weight pressing on the healing injury.

The treadmill has helped Parker, who tweeted Monday that he's wearing shoes on both feet for the first time after three weeks with his left foot in a protective boot.

Petrino joked Monday that Parker should give him his Twitter handle "so I can know what's going on."

Jokes aside, Parker's rehabilitation has become more and more important each week.

Louisville's passing game struggled against Virginia and did just enough to get by against Miami. Without Parker, the Cardinals are missing a fast, physical receiver with first-round NFL draft potential.

He led the team in receiving yards and touchdowns last fall, and is the Cardinals' top downfield receiving threat. He caught six touchdown passes for 26 or more yards last season and had a team-best 33 catches for 15-plus yards.

Parker's surgery, conducted three days after the injury, was done by orthopedic surgeon Bob Anderson, a well-known, Charlotte-based foot specialist.

His injury is common in sports.

Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones, a Pro Bowler in 2012, suffered a fractured fifth metatarsal five games into the 2013 season and missed the rest of the year.

English soccer star Wayne Rooney fractured his fifth metatarsal six weeks before the 2006 World Cup and returned in time to play, though he was out of shape and ineffective despite his foot healing.

But metatarsal fractures that occur at the beginning of or before the football season typically heal – after corrective surgery – in time for a player to return and play, Dr. W. Hodges Davis said.

Davis, an orthopedic surgeon who practices at the same institute as Anderson, didn't have specific knowledge of Parker's case, but he said fractures like Parker's typically take 4-5 weeks to heal.

The athletes then need another week or two to resume full activities. In Parker's case, the four-week anniversary of his surgery comes next Monday.

After those four weeks, Davis said trainers can usually place a "stiff insert" in the rehab patient's shoe and let them start working out again.

From there, Davis explained that trainers ease the athletes back into working out, starting with straight-ahead movement. Parker's work on the AlterG will ease that transition.

Agility tests like planting and cutting, which is how Parker injured his foot during a team scrimmage, will be the last things he'll have to successfully try before he returns to practice.

"Typically you know fairly quickly if they're going to get better quicker or if it'll take time," Davis said.

"Every patient's so different. Foot posture makes a huge difference. Soccer players take a long time to get back because you can't put anything in their shoes. (Football) skill players sometimes take a little longer than a lineman."

Louisville could use its best skill player.

"We're very fortunate we have an AlterG," Petrino said. "(The foot) continues to feel better for him."

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).