Dr. Blue's Health of the Franchise - Bullitt

Riding the high of many recommendations and kudos from my fellow bloggers (thanks again!), I set out today to profile another of my favorite injured playes.  Given how long he's been out and the number of questions regarding his return, Ryan Lilja seemed like an obvious next post.  However, I decided to wait until we had any new hints as to his progress.  In the meantime, I'll cover Melvin Bullitt.

Melvin Bullitt, DB
Date of Injury: Nov 27 and Dec 26, 2008
Nature of Injury: Bruised ribs and unspecified shoulder injury, respecitvely
Typical Rehab Process/Duration: Ribs: ice, rest, time.  Shoulder: depends on injury, but probably involves rest and strengthening exercises.
Players who have suffered similar injuries:  Shoulder: Chad Pennington, Warren Sapp, Orlando Pace

via www.colts.com

Bullitt suffered two injuries toward the end of the 2008 campaign: bruised ribs and an unspecified left shoulder injury.  I'll take them one at a time.  First, the ribs… as with any bruise, bruised ribs are caused by a hard hit to the given area which damage the underlying capillaries and allow blood to leak into the surrounding tissue.  Bruises can be tender and painful to the touch, but don't mechanically hinder movement unless accompanied by swelling.  In the case of bruised ribs, however, the affected area is in constant motion because underneath the ribs are the lungs… which must keep moving so you can breathe.  Melvin probably had difficulty taking deep breaths for a while, but unless re-aggravated, bruised ribs typically heal in 3-4 weeks.

The shoulder injury is a bit more elusive.  No specifics have been given, so I considered a couple of different options.  I was tempted to go with shoulder dislocation because (a) it makes sense given the impact nature of the sport, and (b) I could then use this clip in the post.  However most information I found indicated that recovery from a dislocation would require several weeks, and Bullitt played in the Wild Card game just a few days after he suffered the injury.  So I'm going with rotator cuff.

The shoulder is necessarily a very shallow joint, which allows you to have a wide range of motion - imagine if you could only move your arms to the front and back, or just up laterally to your side?  Boring!  The trade-off, however, is the shoulder's innate instability and susceptibility to strain on the tendons and muscles of the joint.  A rotator cuff injury damages one or more of those muscles/tendons, and makes it difficult and painful to have a full range of motion.  This may include the inability to raise your arms over your head, making it difficult for Bullitt to defend against taller receivers, catch another game-ending interception… or comb his #1 razor-high hair.

Given the typical recovery time for bruised ribs, and the evidence that his shoulder was well enough to play in the Wild Card game, I am optimistic that Bullitt will be rested and healthy in time for Game 1.  I also didn't find any evidence of prior injury history that might portend chronic problems in the future, though we can never rule out the impact of that first injury.  We will get new clues when mini-camp starts, and when he hosts 2 three-week long workout camps ($175/session - info at http://melvinbullitt33.com).

Dr. Blue's Prognosis - Likelihood of Game 1 Appearance: Very High