Victor Cruz's Torn Patellar Injury Ends Season

There will be a lot of media attention paid to Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz’s season-ending knee injury, but a New York sports medicine doctor says it’s not just pro athletes that tear their patellar tendons.

“Patellar tendon injuries are a relatively common injury in the average population,” said Randy Cohn , MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Franklin Hospital. “It’s most common in middle age males.”

The patellar tendon connects the knee cap to the shin, allowing a bent knee to straighten or extend. It plays a significant role in the extension mechanism of the lower leg, along with the quadriceps muscle and quadriceps tendon.

“The most common mechanism in which a patellar tendon is injured is if somebody has a fall or some other accident where there is a strong pull on the patellar tendon forcing the knee to be bent,” said Dr. Cohn.

When it’s completely torn, as in Cruz’s case, it becomes a surgical problem.

“In Victor Cruz’s case, this is going to be a season-ending injury,” said Dr. Cohn, a Giants fan who watched the injury unfold on TV. “He’s going to be unable to do any sort of running or activities for at least three months.”

But there is a bright spot in Cruz’s plight.

“The good news is that in other NFL players that have had this type of injury, there’s a very good success rate in getting back out on the field.”

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