Orlando Franklin: I've never been 100 percent healthy going into a game, playing hurt is part of the job
Denver Broncos offensive lineman
Orlando Franklin is giving Yahoo Canada Sports an exclusive first-person account of life in the NFL. Franklin grew up in Toronto before playing at the University of Miami and was drafted by the Broncos in the second round in 2011.
Picture being in a car crash on a Sunday. You spend the entire following week trying to recover, trying to get healthy. Then come the next Sunday, you get into another car crash.
That’s what life is like in the NFL. Everybody’s hurt. I’ve never been 100 percent healthy going into a football game. Ever. Even since college. You just try to get as close to 100 percent as possible. It’s a battle of constantly trying to get as healthy as possible then ruining your body all over again.
In my four years in the NFL I’ve started every game except one. That was last year. I had a high ankle sprain. The doctor told me I should sit out for four weeks, I sat out one week. I just wanted to get back out there and I felt like I was able to be effective.
It’s really not a question of staying healthy; it’s managing your injuries as much as possible in order to go on Sunday. The NFL has a 100 percent injury rate. Everybody is going to get hurt at some point during their career. Especially playing in the trenches on the line, you’re always going to be hurt. From your waist down – quads, hamstrings, knees, ankles, bottom of your feet, your calves. And your hands are always going to be sore because you’re stopping force.
You’re always going to be sore, because you’re always hitting somebody – doesn’t matter if you’re retreating or going forward. If you play this game, something will be hurting on your body. The key is trying to avoid the big injuries – the ACLs, broken bones.
I try to do something each and every day for my body as a far as recovery goes. After a game on Sunday I come home and have this NormaTec rehab machine. The machine is like boots you put on your legs to help with swelling and to start trying to get my legs back for next week. I wear that for about an hour. On Mondays after meetings I’ll get in the ice tub for about 20 minutes, and then follow that with the hot tub. I come home and I have a massage therapist that comes to my house and I get a two hour massage. Tuesday is our day off but I go to the facility just to get in the ice tub again. Then I get stretched out for an hour, just to get my ligaments and muscles stretched out. That’s the biggest thing coming out of a game – you’re really tight. Wednesday after practice I go to the team masseuse for a deep tissue massage, then have a guy come over to do more stretching. The rest of the week is a lot of time in the ice tub and getting stretched. You’re just constantly trying to get your legs back.
If you play this game, something will be hurting on your body. The key is trying to avoid the big injuries
— Orlando Franklin, Broncos offensive lineman.
The Broncos as an organization don’t believe in painkillers, they don’t hand them out. I’ve had a few surgeries – my left knee, left wrist, left shoulder, my big toe – and I try to get off the painkillers as quick as possible. It’s not like the doctors are writing prescriptions for painkillers. If you get hurt on the road you’re pretty much screwed. The team doctors don’t have those kinds of drugs on them, they’re not allowed. You’ll get some Tylenol or Advil, but that’s it.
It’s just the nature of the business we’re in. The NFL stands for Not For Long – if you’re not on the field you’re not going to be in this league for long. Even as a kid they start instilling the mental toughness. Sticking in the league is the difference between being “hurt” and being “injured.” Every week you know you won’t be 100 percent going into the game.
Farewell to Champ
Champ Bailey was a great person on and off the field. I’m glad he was able to retire as a Bronco. He’s one of the best cornerbacks in NFL history.
I remember when I first got to the league seeing him and thinking “This is a guy that’s made like 10 Pro Bowls.” I thought he might be stuck up or unapproachable, that’s what you kind of expect. But he was a down to earth person; I could talk to him about anything. I could go to him with stuff about football or anything going on off the field. He made you feel like you really cared and he was there for you.
I’m happy as hell to have been able to call him a teammate.
Follow Orlando Franklin on Twitter and Instagram.
More from Orlando Franklin:
-How football led me down the right path, and to protecting Peyton Manning
-Giving thanks to the mentors who helped me get where I am today
-On being part of history, and what it takes to win big games
-A look inside the week-long grind of an NFL player
-What went wrong against the Patriots, and how we fix it
-On giving back to the community through charitable work
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